1 Expose your ignorance
Ouch – this one can be a tough one for some. It’s only natural that you don’t want to look ignorant but you must fight this urge and speak up.
If you don’t understand something or haven’t heard of a term or technology – ask. If you don’t, it’s a missed opportunity to learn and verify your understanding. Software development is a multifaceted industry, you can’t know everything and you’re not expected to, but you can always gain knowledge by speaking up.
2 Communication is key
This one might surprise you, but your communication skills are just as important as your software development skills. Take the time to practice writing – you’ll use it more in your job than you might think.
And get comfortable explaining what you do to non-developers. Especially in the world of consulting and cross-team projects, you’ll likely be communicating with people who don’t have the same technical background as you do.
Miscommunication is perhaps the biggest threat to any project. You need to be able to effectively communicate with other developers, project managers and clients. Clear, concise and timely written or verbal communication can go a long way. It might take some practice, but if you’re aware of this from the start, it will become a strong skill for you going forward!
3 Develop your project management skills
Similar to social skills and communication, you need to be able to communicate your progress on development tasks.
Tools like Trello, Jira and Azure DevOps support developers in task management, planning and scheduling. These skills will help you when you’re fixing a bug or writing a new piece of functionality; breaking down a larger task into smaller pieces making it more manageable for you as well as making it easier to present an overview to your manager or other team members.