# soft skills Published articles for soft skills. This is one page of public article previews, not the complete archive. Follow Next page to continue. Summaries are not the original full articles. ## We Became Editors-in-Chief, and Nobody Trained Us DevFeed: [We Became Editors-in-Chief, and Nobody Trained Us]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Freek Van der Herten (freek@spatie.be) Published: 2026-08-03T14:56:25Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [freek.dev - all blogposts]() Topics: [Artificial Intelligence](), [Development](), [Code]() Tags: [ai](), [career](), [code](), [code-review](), [developer-experience](), [development](), [essay](), [soft-skills](), [writing-code]() ### AI overview An essay examines how AI-assisted development shifts engineers from writing code toward reviewing AI-generated diffs. It argues that this change creates cognitive fatigue and may widen the gap between senior and junior engineers. ### Source excerpt An essay on how AI-assisted development turns engineers into full-time reviewers. We spend our days evaluating AI-generated diffs instead of writing code, and that shift carries a new cognitive fatigue and may widen the senior/junior gap. Read more ## Charting your team's knowledge & skills map DevFeed: [Charting your team's knowledge & skills map]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Anton Zaides Published: 2026-07-21T06:01:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Manager.dev]() Topics: [Graphs](), [GitHub](), [Pull Request](), [Claude](), [systems](), [Open Source]() Tags: [claude](), [collaboration](), [github](), [graph](), [process](), [scope](), [soft-skills]() ### AI overview An engineering manager describes using Unblocked's Social Graph Builder to visualize collaboration and codebase expertise from GitHub pull request history, then explains a spreadsheet-based method for mapping a team's product knowledge, technology skills, soft skills, and non-engineering skills. The article argues that expert knowledge is important for evaluating AI-assisted work with Claude and avoiding harmful implementations in unfamiliar domains. ### Source excerpt If you rebuilt your team again today, knowing what you know now, would it look the same? ## Five Soft Skills for Individual Contributor Career Growth DevFeed: [Five Soft Skills for Individual Contributor Career Growth]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Prasad Rao Published: 2026-06-18T16:39:48Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Big Tech Careers]() Topics: [Tech Careers]() Tags: [career](), [individual-contributor](), [influence](), [order](), [soft-skills]() ### AI overview The article discusses five soft skills intended to help individual contributors advance their careers. The supplied text specifically explains influencing others without formal authority and prioritizing work by choosing what not to do. ### Source excerpt The skills that gets ICs promoted ## The Soft Side of Software Design DevFeed: [The Soft Side of Software Design]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Dariusz Sadowski Published: 2024-06-01T11:11:37Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Thinking in Tech]() Topics: [Architecture & Design](), [Software Engineering](), [Software]() Tags: [design](), [good-practices](), [soft-skills](), [software](), [software-design](), [systems]() ### AI overview The article argues that software design, like soft skills, is difficult to evaluate objectively because its quality depends on context, communication, personal judgment, and real-world outcomes. It questions whether conventions such as readable code, established practices, or TDD reliably define good design. ### Source excerpt How to build systems in the real world ## My First 4 months at Bazaarvoice as a DevOps Engineer DevFeed: [My First 4 months at Bazaarvoice as a DevOps Engineer]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Edward Davies Published: 2024-03-18T13:34:17Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Bazaarvoice]() Topics: [DevOps](), [Cloud](), [jira](), [Slack]() Tags: [bazaarvoice](), [cloud](), [communication](), [culture](), [devops](), [devops-engineer](), [engineering](), [error-messages](), [jira](), [new-hire-onboarding](), [newhire](), [onboarding](), [ownership](), [slack](), [soft-skills](), [team](), [waysofworking]() ### AI overview A DevOps engineer reflects on their first four months at Bazaarvoice, focusing on public communication in Slack, searchable team knowledge, and shared ownership of Jira work. The post describes how public questions, documented updates, error messages, and blockers help distributed teams collaborate and continue work across time zones. ### Source excerpt I joined Bazaarvoice as a DevOps engineer into the Cloud engineering team in September 2023. It has been a very busy first 4 months learning a lot in terms of technical and soft skills. In this post I have highlighted my key learnings from my start at BV. Communication One of the key takeaways I [...] ## Infosec Skill Sets DevFeed: [Infosec Skill Sets]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2022-01-21T03:27:56Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Signs of Triviality]() Topics: [Security](), [Computer science](), [Programming](), [Software Engineering](), [networking]() Tags: [infosec](), [programming](), [soft-skills](), [software-engineering]() ### AI overview The article discusses how information-security professionals develop different combinations of technical and non-technical skills. It uses overlapping Venn-diagram categories to distinguish computer science, programming, operations, networking, and software engineering, while emphasizing that no single background is required for everyone. ### Source excerpt Soft skills are hard, and everybody's career path different. Some skill sets tend to intersect, however. Here's my simplified breakdown using, what else, Venn diagrams. ## A letter to my younger self DevFeed: [A letter to my younger self]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Jorge Castillo Published: 2021-03-06T10:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [👨💻 Jorge Castillo]() Topics: [Learning](), [Programming](), [Data Science]() Tags: [advice](), [career](), [communication](), [developer](), [developers](), [hobby](), [learning](), [personal](), [programming](), [side-projects](), [soft-skills](), [team]() ### AI overview A personal reflection offering advice to developers early in their careers. It covers curiosity, humility, accepting feedback, choosing team battles carefully, reading technical books, pursuing enjoyable side projects, maintaining hobbies outside programming, managing competition and failure, finding mentors, and practicing empathy and communication. ### Source excerpt Just some advice I would give to my younger self today. ## How Product Managers Use Soft Skills and User Feedback DevFeed: [How Product Managers Use Soft Skills and User Feedback]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Madeleine Want (madeleine@upday.com) Published: 2017-03-08T04:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Upday]() Topics: [Product Management](), [User experience (UX)](), [Development]() Tags: [leadership](), [product-management](), [product-owner](), [soft-skills](), [users](), [ux]() ### AI overview The article reflects on how product management has evolved from a broad mix of responsibilities toward stronger emphasis on communication, consensus-building, persuasion, and listening to users. It describes user feedback loops as part of product management and related to UX. ### Source excerpt "Until now, sociologists have depended on limited data sets and surveys that tell us how people say they think and behave, rather than what they actually do." - (Pentland, 2015) I grew up thinking I was clever. My grades seemed to say so, and my parents certainly did. But I wasn't sure exactly what that meant, and at some point I settled on the conclusion that being clever means you probably don't need to check your math. If only I'd verbalised that idea and been gently corrected early on, I would have saved myself years wasted assuming and spent them learning instead. For several years now I've enjoyed a trajectory of increasing leadership with very little authority. As a Product Manager I lead a product - but I don't have any formal technical qualifications. I also lead a team and a vision - but nobody reports to me. This is typical of the Product Manager role, and makes it challenging and rewarding at the same time. Strong Product Managers don't have to bring specific technical skills to the team, but they do need soft skills, - "the ability to steer and navigate, intangible qualities and behaviors" (Cheng, 2016). Everything that allows you to understand, communicate, build consensus, debate and direct is a soft skill, and Product Managers do these things every day. It makes sense: why else would your team jump on-board for your vision? You have to be able to communicate it compellingly. Why should the business allocate resources to your plan? You need to be able to argue it persuasively. How can you be confident it will succeed? You need to listen to the people who will make it succeed - the users. Product Management Then Traditional definitions of the Product Manager/Product Owner (PM/PO) role have focused on the blend of skills it requires. Being a great PO includes being a customer delighter, storyteller, delegator, developer, knowledge broker, conflict resolver and escalator (Lindstrom). Others have visualised similar definitions in diagrams like this one 1: