Software Tester, We Want to Hire You! an Analysis of the Demand for Soft Skills

Abstract

Abstract. One important discussion in the software development field is related to the skills that people need to have to build successful software products. This debate is generated on one hand by a large number of failures and delays of software projects. On the other hand, the debate is triggered by the need to build even better-quality software in a rapidly changing world. We will examine to which extent soft skills are relevant when hiring software testers and if there are any specific skills required for agile testers.We analyzed 400 job advertisements for testers from 33 countries, out of which 64% ask for soft skills. Of the advertisements asking for soft skills, there is, on average, a request for 5 soft skills, 11 testing skills, and 5 technical skills. Only 30% of the companies ask explicitly for agile testers. However, our analysis shows no notable differences in skill demands for agile testers and the rest.Software companies want to hire testers who can communicate well and have analytical and problem-solving skills. There is a significant increase in the need for openness and adaptability, independent-working and team-playing since 2012. In addition, there are new categories of soft skills identified, such as having work ethics, customer-focus and the ability to work under pressure.

The skills that employers look for in software testers

“…The most significant industrial demand seems to be placed on high-level testing, with acceptance testing and system testing occupying the first two positions in the ranking of skills for test levels. The result concerning acceptance testing is in line with our previous finding on soft skills [35], where there is a tendency towards asking testers for more customer focus. It is also in line with the fact that the lack of user acceptance has long been a major impediment for the success of new software systems [67]; hence, employers currently put more focus on it.…”

“…The fact that there is a much stronger request for managers to master testing -particularly automated testing -than to manage people, shows the substantial need for qualified leaders who can drive the test automation process. Our previous finding [35] on the demand for independent testers leads to the conclusion that, for the employers in software testing, people management less important compared to the technical qualification of test managers.…”

“…2, Fig. 3, and study [35]. We split the data in two sets to look for correlations among the high level of skills (the first level of nodes in our taxonomies) and to look for correlations in the details of the skills (the leaf nodes of the taxonomies).…”

“…We researched two subsets of skills in two previous studies [35], [36]: soft skills demands for testers and the overall testing and tool requirements for testers. The previous studies show that testers need to have good communication, analysis, and problemsolving skills.…”

The effects of game‐based learning in the acquisition of “soft skills” on undergraduate software engineering courses: A systematic literature review

“…Unfortunately, the same study stated that software engineering curricula at the undergraduate level often emphasize on hard skills over soft skills. Finally, research by Florea and Stray [45] analyzed 400 job advertisements for software testers from 33 countries, 64% of which required soft skills. The study determined that the most important soft skills are communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, teamwork, fast learning, independent-working, and adaptability.…”