Software developers' perceptions of soft skills in software requirements engineering

Abstract

Software requirements express users' needs and constraints for a software system to be constructed in order to solve some real problems. Both researchers and practitioners from industry point out that well performed requirements related activities have very important role for successful realization of software projects. Software developers work on software requirements jointly with software users. Requirements elicitation and specification are especially important since they require software developers with multidisciplinary skills. These activities require not only technical skills but also non-technical or soft skills. This article presents a qualitative study with software developers aimed at inquiring how they perceive soft skills in software requirements activities. The study involved 14 software developers, who were interviewed. Data analysis, based on inductive thematic analysis, resulted in three themes that reflect software developers' perceptions about soft skills. The study findings revealed that software developers are aware of soft skills, recognize the need to improve them and understand their importance in everyday practice. Implications of the research findings for researchers, software developers and managers in software organizations are discussed.