Software Engineering Radio - the podcast for professional software developers

SE Radio 655: Charles Humble on Professional Skills for Software Engineers

Feb 13, 2025

Charles Humble, a seasoned IT professional and author, discusses essential skills for software engineers, focusing on communication and critical thinking. He explains how systems thinking has become vital as technology grows more complex. Humble shares practical techniques for improving empathy and collaboration in remote work. He emphasizes the importance of professional writing and documentation, encouraging engineers to engage with open source projects and develop strong networking skills. Expect insights that can reshape your approach to engineering challenges!

55:20

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Episode guests

Charles Humble

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Effective communication policies are crucial for engineers to enhance team collaboration and streamline workflows amidst meeting proliferation.

Empathy is a vital skill for engineers that fosters collaboration and improves communication, especially during high-pressure situations.

Engaging directly with customers reveals essential insights for software design and highlights the importance of aligning development with user experience.

Deep dives

The Importance of Communication Skills in Software Engineering

Effective communication is essential for software engineers, especially as they progress in their careers. Engineers often face challenges such as meeting proliferation, which can disrupt workflow and lead to inefficiencies. To mitigate this, it's important to establish clear communication policies that discern when to use synchronous versus asynchronous communication methods, setting agendas for meetings, and assessing participants' necessity. A deliberate approach to communication can significantly enhance team collaboration and ensure that all members are aligned and informed.

Intro

5min

Navigating Communication and Empathy in Engineering

22min

Mastering Problem-Solving Techniques

8min

Empowering Software Engineers to Share Knowledge Through Writing

3min

The Power of Open Source Contributions

6min

Mastering Documentation and Presentation Skills

7min

The Power of Politeness in Professional Networking

4min

In this episode, Charles Humble speaks withhost Brijesh Ammanath about skills that can provide developers a grounding in systems thinking.

Charles is a 30-year veteran of the IT industry, including as a former software engineer, architect, and CTO, as well as former editor in chief of InfoQ and chief editor for Container Solutions. He has published “Professional Skills for Software Engineers” as a series of 14 O’Reilly shortcuts covering communication, critical thinking, documentation, and networking.

Underlying his work is the idea that as complexity increases in IT systems, the roles of architects and leaders move from linear thinking to something that might be more broadly defined as systems thinking -- looking at problems and systems as a whole rather than just the individual parts. This requires a skill set that isn’t generally taught or widely valued as an industry -- in part, because it's hard to test in whiteboard interviews. It requires a mixture of communication skills; interpersonal skills; critical thinking; the ability to synthesize large amounts of information.

Brought to you by IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Software magazine.