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So"# s$ills
So"# s$ills is a sociological term relating to a persons EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal ha its, friendliness, and optimism that characteri!e relationships "ith other people# $oft s%ills complement hard s%ills (part of a persons IQ), "hich are the occupational re&uirements of a 'o and many other acti(ities# ) persons soft s%ill EQ is an important part of their indi(idual contri ution to the success of an organi!ation# *articularly those organi!ations dealing "ith customers face+to+face are generally more successful if they train their staff to use these s%ills# $creening or training for personal ha its or traits such as dependa ility and conscientiousness can yield significant return on in(estment for an organi!ation# ,or this reason, soft s%ills are increasingly sought out y employers in addition to standard &ualifications# It has een suggested that in a num er of professions soft s%ills may e more important o(er the long term than occupational s%ills# -he legal profession is one e.ample "here the a ility to deal "ith people effecti(ely and politely, more than their mere occupational s%ills, can determine the professional success of a la"yer# definition $oft s%ills are personal attri utes that enhance an indi(iduals interactions, 'o performance and career prospects# Unli%e hard s%ills, "hich tend to e specific to a certain type of tas% or acti(ity, soft s%ills are roadly applica le#$oft s%ills are sometimes ro%en do"n into personal attri utes, such as/ optimism common sense

responsi ility a sense of humor integrity

time+management moti(ation#

and interpersonal a ilities, such as/

empathy leadership communication good manners socia ility the a ility to teach#

Its often said that hard s%ills "ill get you an inter(ie" ut you need soft s%ills to get (and %eep) the 'o # reputed soft"are company in India 0 Images 1 is all geared up for a client (isit# -he clients ha(e indicated that, after inspecting the progress of the pro'ect they ha(e outsourced, they "ould li%e to meet the team mem ers "or%ing on it# 2hy3 -o select one team mem er for a stint onsite 4 something almost e(ery soft"are engineer aspires for# Ra(i has een one of the most acti(e mem ers in the pro'ect and has done a "onderful 'o # 5e is technically rilliant, ut has some concerns/

2ill he a le to communicate his performance to the client in an impressi(e manner so that he is chosen3 2hy do his team mates not prefer to come to him for solutions and go to less capa le people instead3 5is pro'ect manager doesnt seem to e (ery "arm to"ards him either, although he does drop in those occasional mails appreciating his "or%# 5ere is a typical scenario in an I- company6 or for that matter, any organisation "here interpersonal communication is in(ol(ed# 7r, li%e in Ra(is case, "here an employee suffers from a lac% of interpersonal s%ills# Are #ec%nical& 'ob-rela#ed s$ills enoug%( -echnical and 'o +related s%ills are a must, ut they are 87sufficient "hen it comes to progressing up the ladder#

2ith the traditional paternalistic style of leadership ecoming pass9, professional managers e.pect their teams to e proacti(e and communicate openly# $oft s%ills are (ery important in usiness# It is essential to e technically sound, ut one should also ha(e the a ility to con(ey the idea to the masses in the simplest possi le manner, says :ayur%umar ;ade"ar, an ER* consultant "ith *rice"aterhouse <oopers# 2ith the oom in outsourcing ta%ing root across industries, many professionals and su 'ect matter e.perts directly deal "ith their clients on a regular asis# -heir approacha ility and people s%ills are "hat ultimately sustain the contract their employers ha(e agged# *lanning is necessary ut e.ecution is also e&ually important# )nd it ta%es soft s%ills to e.ecute any idea ecause it in(ol(es dealing "ith people directly, says ;ade"ar# ) so"# s$ills "or e*er+ %ard-nosed ,ro"essional =eha(ioural training e.perts say there are se(eral soft s%ills are re&uired in these circumstances# $ome of them include/ i# Interpersonal s%ills ii# -eam spirit iii# $ocial grace i*# =usiness eti&uette *# 8egotiation s%ills *i# =eha(ioural traits such as attitude, moti(ation and time management >o you ha(e these3 If your ans"er is yes, good for you# =ut if your ans"er is no, then you %no" it is time to approach either a training organisation or a training consultant# -ill "ormal #raining en%ance +our so"# s$ills( -here is a lot of argument in the industry as to "hether it is possi le to enhance soft s%ills in a fe" hours of training, especially "hen one considers the fact that a person has li(ed "ith those traits all his life# -o this, the ans"er is harsh ut real 4 a professional "ho "ants to do "ell in his/ her career does not really ha(e a choice#

In the initial years of your career, your technical a ilities are important to get good assignments# 5o"e(er, "hen it comes to gro"ing in an organisation, it is your personality that matters, more so in large organisations "here se(eral people "ith similar technical e.pertise "ill compete for a promotion# -raining on soft s%ills ecomes all the more rele(ant in a country li%e India "here the education system does not del(e into personality de(elopment# $oft s%ills training is essential ecause "e do not ha(e it in our academic curricula# -herefore, corporate houses ha(e to ta%e up the tas% of grooming employees "ho are the lin% et"een the company and the e.ternal "orld, so that they are a le to present themsel(es etter, says $umeet :ehta, an e&uity research analyst "ith ,ortis $ecurities ?td# .e +our o/n #rainer0 2hile organisations are definitely in(esting in augmenting their staffs people s%ills, here are some inputs for professionals and students "ho "ould li%e to initiate the process themsel(es/ i# .e a ,ar# o" #eam ac#i*i#ies It could e either as a part of your church choir, or an 8;7, or your local youth circle# 7 ser(e your o"n eha(iour in the group and ho" you relate to others# ii# As$ "amil+ members or close "riends #o /ri#e do/n +our bes# and /ors# #rai#s1 Ideally, ha(e at least four to fi(e people do this for you# E(aluate the common traits all of them ha(e mentioned# -hus, you can e a"are of your strengths and "or% impro(ing your "ea%nesses# iii# Ho/ /ell do +ou manage +our #ime( -hin%# <an you do more in life3 7r is your day too crammed "ith acti(ities3 Effecti(e time management is (ery essential in the corporate "orld# i*# In#ros,ec# on %o/ +ou reac# #o "eedbac$1 In organisations, people s%ills mostly come into the picture "hen there is feed ac% gi(en 4 e it for an idea, an e.ecuted pro'ect or a presentation# @ou are 'udged y the "ay you respond to feed ac%#

>o you get defensi(e3 >o you insist you "ere right3 >o you mee%ly accept criticism3 Remem er, people tend to e 'udged and stereotyped according to their responses# @ou "ill, too# *# Ho/ good are +ou a# cri#i2uing( 2hile responding to feed ac% is one side of the coin, gi(ing feed ac% is the other side# )re you aggressi(e3 *essimistic3 >o you elie(e in constructi(e criticism3 7r prefer to e the yes+man3 *i# Li*e consciousl+ )ny organisation is manned y people, therefore soft s%ills are all a out ho" you deal "ith people and present yourself# -hough it may e easier said than done, soft s%ills can e enhanced simply y eing a"are of oneself and li(ing consciously# A couple of years ago, I had a conversation with a colleague who had been on sabbatical the prior year. He spent his time at a local company where he helped them improve their software engineering practices and did research with engineers from the company into new design methods. One of the people at the company had asked him, How do you grade software engineering assignments ! He was somewhat taken aback by the "uestion and then reali#ed that he didn$t have a good answer. I$ve thought about how I might answer this difficult "uestion, and I$d like to share my thoughts about this. In many ways, grading software engineering in school compares to performance evaluations for software developers in industry.

*RI8<E $U8>)R R)7 2hats so hard a out grading3 $ome of the difficulty "e educators ha(e "ith grading soft"are engineering assignments stems from something I and many others ha(e tal%ed a out efore# $oft"are engineering is different from other types of engineering# A If I enroll in a ci(il 4 or some other esta lished engineering 4 curriculum, I learn the asic physical la"s that go(ern the domain in "hich I operate# I learn the formulas that ha(e een pro(ed y mathematical logic and empirical e(idence# -he instructor poses a pro lem, and I sol(e it using a theoretically and practically sound ody of %no"ledge# -here is usually one right ans"er to the pro lem# -his is not the case in soft"are engineering# 2hen I grade soft"are engineering assignments, I feel more li%e a humanities professor grading essays than I do a science and engineering professor grading tests# I determine grades y se(eral soft criteria that, to my students, seem to order on pure su 'ecti(ity# *art of the pro lem is that I ha(e trou le producing an e.act definition of the criteria I use "hen grading# I suspect this ina ility is common among my colleagues teaching soft"are engineering# -he difficulty, in my opinion, comes from the lac% of definiti(e, canonical ans"ers to most of the pro lems "e "or% on and assign to our students# -rue, some pro lems can e gi(en that clearly ha(e a right or "rong ans"er# =ut most are not so clear cut# ) sample pro lem ?ets loo% at an e.ample of a pro lem that has oth e.act and fu!!y ans"ers# -he first home"or% pro lem for my o 'ect+oriented analysis and design (77)>) class this term as%s the students to e.pand a simple soft"are application that consists of a

Remote=utton class and a >oggy>oor class# -he dog o"ner pushes a utton and the door opens for B seconds efore closing# -he assignment as%s them to add the capa ility for ar% recognition so that "hen the dog ar%s, the door opens for B seconds# )dditionally, they need to descri e their design decisions and identify potential pro lems "ith their ideas for sol(ing them# ,inally, they ha(e to supply a class diagram that descri es their solution# ) simple solution to the pro lem is sho"n in ,igure A# 2e add a ne" class that interfaces "ith the ar% recognition hard"are that is responsi le for triggering the doors open method# -his is a perfectly accepta le solution for the pro lem at hand#

3igure 1: Sim,le solu#ion #o #%e dogg+ door ,roblem ,igure C sho"s a different solution# -he student "ho su mitted this defended her solution y referencing the dont repeat yourself (>R@) principle# -he utton and recogni!er oth needed to open the door, so she encapsulated that eha(ior in the a stract >oor)cti(ator class#

3igure 4: Al#erna#e solu#ion #o #%e dogg+ door ,roblem 2hich of these t"o solutions is correct3 Is one definitely etter than the other3 -hese are &uestions that pro(ide fodder for great arguments o(er a drin%# -hese discussions are "orth ha(ing ecause, if they are conducted "ith respect for the participants, they can lead to deeper understanding of different design principles and techni&ues# =ut should these t"o students recei(e different grades for their design3 5eres my analysis as I try to assign grades to these solutions# In the first place, oth solutions "or%# -he second solution re&uires that the hard"are send the message open%oor to the appropriate o 'ect# -his could e a pro lem if you ha(e no control o(er the hard"are# @ou "ould ha(e to add a method to the =ar%Recogni!er, for e.ample, that ser(es as an adapter method# In this case, the first solution is etter# =oth solutions are clear and understanda le# -he second design may e etter for certain types of future e.pansion, "here other de(ices are added that also acti(ate the door# -he first solution is a it simpler and follo"s the agile practice of only doing "hat you need to sol(e the current pro lem#C )s a teacher, I ha(e to as%/ $hould either solution recei(e less credit than the other3 I chose to gi(e them oth full credit# $ome lac% and "hite, along "ith the gray 7ther solutions are easier to find fault "ith# $ome of my students turned in Unified :odeling ?anguage (U:?) diagrams that used the "rong sym ols or connectors# -his

is, to me, especially trou ling since the tools "e use let them re(erse+engineer a class diagram from their code# E(en if they choose not to do that, the tool ma%es it (ery easy to choose a correct connector# I dont stress U:? that much in my class, ut I do e.pect the students to e a le to create correct diagrams for the little that "e do use# )nother part of the assignment that "as easy to grade "as the re&uirement that they pro(ide DUnit tests that co(er all of their code# )ll of the students use the Eclipse platform to de(elop their code, and "e are using the <o(erlipse plug+in for gathering code co(erage statistics "hen DUnit tests run#E Its easy for graders to run the tests under <o(erlipse and determine if there is AFFG code co(erage or not# -he screen shot in ,igure E sho"s the co(erage data produced y running the tests on one solution# )ll of the files that did not ha(e AFFG co(erage "ere test files, "hich is fine# -he files that elong to the pro lem solution are all co(ered AFFG# -his su mission recei(ed full credit on this part of the assignment#

3igure 5: Co*erage s#a#is#ics on 6!ni# #es#s using Co*erli,se =ut these DUnit tests still must e e.amined carefully to ensure that they are indeed good tests# 7ne of the tests most fre&uently missed "as designed to ensure that the system eha(ed properly in cases li%e this/

-he dog ar%s and the door opens (for B seconds)# -hen, E seconds later, the dog ar%s again and the door should remain open for B seconds from this ar%#

-he total door+open time should e H seconds# $ome students didnt handle the situation at all# $ome had the door open for AF seconds# =oth of these "ere "rong# I "orded the re&uirements specifically to indicate the eha(ior I "anted# -he remainder of the assignment presented me "ith other difficult grading pro lems# $tudents had to thin% a out possi le pro lems and ho" to sol(e them# I loo% for sound, creati(e opinions on "hat they "rite# )gain, there is no right ans"er# $hould they thin% a out cases "here the neigh ors dog ar%s and the door opens to let a s%un% in from the ac%yard3 2hat a out the door closing as the dog is entering or e.iting3 2hat

happens if theres a po"er failure3 )ll of these are things they might consider# If they dont come up "ith the same set of complications that I ha(e in my o"n imagination, are they "rong3 2ho says Im right3 <learly, to me at least, there are many good ans"ers and pro a ly no est ans"er# I and my teaching assistants "ho grade these assignments must use 'udgment that "e ha(e gained from e.perience to fairly grade the students# I "ant to point out one area that I grade the students on, something that many of them disli%e# If they ha(e spelling or egregious grammar errors, they get points ta%en off# -hey must learn to communicate "ell, and I ma%e this clear from the (ery first class# 7n to soft"are engineering I(e 'ust descri ed an e.ample from my current 77)> course, "hich is the second in our soft"are engineering series# -he first is a soft"are engineering course that most of our computer science ma'ors ta%e in their second or third year# $o, in the soft"are engineering course, the students ha(ent learned most of the design principles that I e.pect my 77)> students to %no"# ;rading is more difficult and often more su 'ecti(e# ) typical soft"are engineering course for my students focuses on gi(ing them the s%ills to "or% effecti(ely on a team, do iterati(e de(elopment, and deli(er "or%ing soft"are# I :any of these o 'ecti(es and the outcomes I e.pect are &uite soft# 7ne of the first assignments I gi(e the students in soft"are engineering is to "rite a simple program, ut to "or% in pairs (i#e#, try pair+programming)# )s part of the assignment, they ha(e to "rite a short paper descri ing their e.perience "ith the practice, "hether they thin% it helps them de(elop etter soft"are or not, and defend their position# -he "or% is not nearly as intellectually challenging as "hat they "ill face in the 77)> class, ut it lays the ground"or% for team colla oration, "hich is a ma'or learning goal# 5o" "ould you grade the assignment3 <learly, if the program doesnt "or%, theres a pro lem# =ut is the pro lem "ith the students lac% of technical %no"ledge or a pro lem "ith pair+programming3 5o" much "eight should I place on the code "hen the goal is to ha(e them try a ne" practice and reflect upon it3 I choose to place most of the emphasis for the grade on the report of their e.periences "ith pair+programming# I loo% for clarity in their presentation and "ell+thought+out arguments and conclusions# -here is no right ans"er as for "hether pair+programming is good or ad, since it depends upon the indi(iduals and the pair6 ut faulty logic or simply a ad argument is easier to spot, 'ust as good arguments and sound reasoning are# -he soft"are engineering class has fe"er assignments than the 77)> class# -hats ecause the course+long pro'ect in the soft"are engineering class is much igger than any pro'ect they(e encountered thus far in their academic careers# -eams usually consist of ten to fifteen students, so they spend a lot of time "or%ing on their

colla oration s%ills# -his colla oration is (ery hard for the type of student "ho is used to courses in the hard sciences# -he pro'ect counts for a out one+third of their grade# :y teaching assistants and I get together to discuss the teams and their interactions# )cting as mentors for one or more teams during the term, "e try to coach them on de(eloping colla orati(e s%ills, and "e o ser(e the indi(idual students interactions "ith their teammates# -hese o ser(ations are a significant part of the input "e use to determine their grades# Interestingly enough, the est technical pro'ect is often not the one produced y the team that gets the est grade# -ypically, team dynamics are poor on the teams "ith etter technical solutions, usually ecause one student ta%es o(er the team and 'ust does things his or her "ay# )nd this self+appointed leader isnt the only one to lame6 its also the teams fault for gi(ing up and letting the hero ha(e his or her "ay# 2e see heroic effort y one person, ut a ro%en, defeated team "hose mem ers ha(e lost some of their passion for de(eloping soft"are 4 not unli%e many teams that I(e encountered in industry# :ost of you ha(e pro a ly een on pro'ects li%e these# 2hether or not you "ere the hero, my guess is that "hen you reflect on the e.perience, it isnt a pleasant memory# @ou either came to disli%e the hero or you felt the negati(e feelings your teammates had for you# 7ften in my soft"are career, I encountered really smart, competent soft"are de(elopers responsi le for short+term gains in the companys product line, ut long+term losses in the &uality of "or%ing life# I thin% there "ere times "hen I pro a ly fell into this category and Im no" em arrassed y these memories# Id li%e to thin% it "as a case or t"o of youthful e.u erance# I hope that as I(e aged and matured, I(e ecome more a"are of the softer s%ills and ha(e a roader (ie" of "hat ma%es someone a good teammate# Employers "ho hire our graduates tell me that one of the ig differences et"een the students "ho come from 2*I and those from other schools is that our graduates are a le to "or% on a team pro'ect "hen they start the 'o # -heyre not afraid to ta%e on hard technical tas%s, ut they %no" ho" important other, less technical factors are to the success of the pro'ect# 2hat a out the real "orld3 ,or most people "ho "or% outside of academia, the &uestion of grading soft"are de(elopers in an organi!ation is fre&uently rele(ant# If youre a manager, you "ant to re"ard good (alues and eha(iors, ut "hich ones3 If youre a de(eloper, do you ha(e the a ility to affect your team3 If so, do you affect the team positi(ely or negati(ely 4 and from "hose (ie"point3 I su mit that managers should thin% a out e(aluating their de(elopers along the lines that "e academics do in grading our students# I elie(e that many of the &ualities "e (alue in our students are the same that "ill help usiness organi!ations thri(e#

It seems o (ious to me that there must e a bottom-line component to any e(aluation# =ut there are tactical ottom+line (ictories that can lead to strategic defeats# *art of eing a good manager is the a ility to de(elop talent in your team that can lead to strategic, long+term success# @ou ha(e to alance the short+term gains against the long+ term competiti(e (ia ility of the organi!ation# >e(eloping non+technical s%ills Quantifia le technical a ility is a primary attri ute that gets a person hired as a soft"are de(eloper# -hey ring needed s%ills to the organi!ation and pro'ect# ,or many years, this "as the only thing that mattered# >e(elopers "ould go to a company, do great technical "or%, then find that they needed to mo(e on 4 usually ecause other mem ers of their pro'ect team really didnt "ant to "or% "ith them on another pro'ect# =ut there "ere lots of companies "ho needed their technical e.pertise and "ere "illing to pay for it# Do hoppers "ere the norm during those years# In the AJHFs, "e rarely encountered anyone "ho actually reached their fi(e+year anni(ersary "ith a company# ,or the sa%e of full disclosure, I "ill admit that the HFs "as for me, too, a time of fre&uent 'o changes# *art of it "as "or%ing for companies that "ere in trou le, ut mostly I "as still trying to find my o"n path in soft"are de(elopment# I "anted to learn, I "anted to do great "or%, ut no one had e(er mentored me on the non+technical s%ills that I no" reali!e are so important# -he choice "as to e a 'ourneyman de(eloper or ecome a manager, and I(e ne(er "anted to e a manager 4 at least not a manager "ho "ent for an :=) and had am itions to e a captain of industry# -hen I read ;erald 2ein ergs oo%, &ecoming a 'echnical (eader, "hich got me thin%ing differently a out teams and team"or% and ho" I could etter fit in and ha(e a positi(e influence# B =ut ac% to the point/ If technical a ility is the primary characteristic that gets someone the 'o , "hat %eeps them on the 'o 3 ,or the strategic goals of the company and the longe(ity of the employee, the relationships among employee, company, and the people in the organi!ation are important# Remem er my grading analogy3 I tell my students a out the soft s%ills, and along "ith my teaching assistants, I help them learn something a out them# It doesnt "or% for e(eryone# $ome of my students are fired from their teams ecause they are una le to "or% on a team# -hese students dont pass the course# 7thers find talents they ne(er thought they had and learn that deli(ering a product through colla oration can e an e.tremely re"arding e.perience# Kaluing soft s%ills >o you e(aluate your de(elopers on their soft s%ills3 5o" much emphasis do you put on them3 ,or that matter, do you ma%e it clear "hat you (alue3 -his last &uestion is the %ey and the one I "ant to lea(e you "ith#

I find that if I dont tell students e.actly ho" theyre going to e graded, some of them are surprised "hen they dont do "ell# -hey may thin% they(e done commenda le "or%, and technically spea%ing, they ha(e often# =ut I "ant them to e part of a team, and if theyre alienating their teammates, theyre failing the lesson# If you ta%e one thing a"ay from this months column, I hope its the importance of clearly e.pressing "hat you (alue, "hether its for those "ho report to you or e(en for your peers# <ompanies, especially large ones, ha(e huge human resource departments that pro(ide corporate guidelines on ho" to perform performance e(aluations# -hey pro(ide training for managers, and much of it is really good# =ut they often miss the mar% "hen it comes to defining the (alue of the soft s%ills# 2hen annual re(ie"s came around, ac% in my industry days, I "as al"ays frustrated, sometimes depressed# :y "ife couldnt understand it# I almost al"ays got great re(ie"s and a nice raise# :y pro lem "as that I "as "or%ing as hard as I could, gi(ing the company my est# I %ept thin%ing "hat more are they going to "ant from me no"3 2hen companies as%ed me "hat stretch goals I "as setting for the ne.t year, I "ould picture myself as a ru er and, stretching more and more each year until one year, I "ould suddenly rea%# Im sure this "asnt the intention, ut thats ho" it felt# =y contrast, simple communication of "hat the goals really meant, not to mention getting my uy+in, "ould ha(e gone a long "ay to helping me understand ho" to etter fit in "ith the corporate culture and contri ute# 8ot all employee+company matches "ill "or%# -here are many times "hen the goals, (alues, and needs 'ust dont match# -hats o%ay# ?i%e soft"are pro'ects that are doomed to fail, its etter to find out sooner than later# =ut some of the failure can e a(oided "ith a clear description of ho" you grade your soft"are engineers# =y clearly e.pressing "hat you e.pect from them, and y mentoring them along the "ay, you "ill find that youll ha(e more matches than mismatches# )nd ta%ing a little time to impro(e your grading s%ills can yield employees that "ill "ant to "or% "ith you for a long time# ?ast modified/ -uesday, CJ :arch CFAA, AC/EH *: