7 Habits Of Highly Effective Software Developers

So, your resume says that you know 7 programming languages, 3 frameworks and you know embedded programming as well. Along with that you can wear the hat of a front end and back end developer as and when needed. Also you have highlighted in bold letters ‘Master Artificial Intelligence programmer’. Seriously ? Let’s assume for a moment that I believe you. But are you actually effective with all that knowledge. Can you really deliver an end product in time and the most important question, ‘Do You Deem Yourself As An Effective Software Developer ?‘ If no, then read further to know the 7 habits of highly effective software developers. If yes, just share this post and help my blog grow.(Ok, that was a horrible joke. Still sharing is a good idea).

Image Credit – Pixabay

1. They have a constant craving to learn something new

Good software developers are always keen learners and observers. Sometimes, they just need to learn the new technology that comes out not because they require it but because they can’t stand the feeling of not knowing the latest of whatever programming field they are in. This is almost true for any software developer who is highly effective and competitive.

If that sounds like you, then you are on the way to become a successful developer. But that’s just one. Let’s see the other qualities as well.

2. They write clean code

Writing code, any programmer can do it. Writing good code, that part is tricky. But what does writing good code mean ? Well, for a start, good code is easy to understand and well formatted. But great software developers take it a step further. They write code that’s clean, well formatted and reusable.

They tackle a complex problem by writing a really good function and they write it in such a way that it can be used in another bigger and more complex program. That’s re-usability. Writing code just once and using it in other programs just makes the process of developing software much faster.

The book Clean Code by Robert C. Martin is a really good book to learn to write good code. I also highly recommend the book Code Complete by Steve McConnell as this book also covers all the other procedures that involve in writing a good software.

3. They do not feel ashamed to ask other developers for help

As software developers, we take great pride in our work. Be it being competitive with other developers or writing code that we know could not be written by others. But sometimes we are just stuck in a problem and cannot find the solution for weeks. We think of asking for help but one nagging question behind our head stops us : ‘What other developers will think of me when they come to know that I was unable to solve this simple problem ?‘

Then you should know two things. First, other developers also have the same feeling when they are stuck in a problem. So, you are not alone (*sigh of relief*). Second, to become a really good software developer you should always be willing to learn from other developers and sometimes even from less experienced developers because in the field of programming and software development everyone has something to contribute.

So, never feel bad to ask for help. That’s just a part of being an effective developer. Also, never deny any other developer when they ask for help. Because learning and then teaching it to others is what sets apart good developers from great developers.

4. They love solving problems

I am not talking about programming problems. Because software developers do that everyday and then again they would not be developing software if they don’t like programming problems.

I am talking about problems in general. Highly effective software developers always feel a rush of excitement in their body when they are faced with a problem that requires thinking. They just love tackling the mind bending problems and finding elegant solutions for them. That’s part of a reason why they have chosen software development as a career. They get to solve some kind of problem everyday. And most of the time they implement a solution to be used in a software which is being used by millions of people around the world. Nothing can beat that feeling of enthusiasm and empowerment.

5. Highly effective software developers can communicate their thoughts clearly

It is said that whatever work you may do, it is always 80 percent communication and 20 percent domain knowledge. It is true for software developers as well.

Many programmers think that their job is to sit down and write great piece of software all day long. Unfortunately (or may be fortunately), that is not the case.

All great software developers know that their clients do not know what they want. Even if the client comes to you and lays down the whole idea of what is to be developed and how the final design should be, they do not know what end product they want. It is the work of the developer to communicate the ideas, the problems and the possible solutions to the clients. Without effective communication skills, both you and your client will feel disconnected and will not be able to pass down the ideas for developing the end product.

So, gear up and take some steps towards improving your communication skills with other people. Because at the end of the day you do not write a piece of software for a computer, you write it on a computer which will be used by other humans.

6. They love contributing

Great software developers always like to contribute to other people’s work. But what is contributing ? It can be anything starting from reviewing other developer’s code to contributing to open source projects.

With the increase in number of open source projects on Github it has become even easier to contribute and help others in their projects.

At the end of the day, this would help you to increase your number of connections and make you a reputed developer.

7. Great developers are not ‘religious’ about any single technology

Great software developers are not bound to any one technology or language or framework. They like to use what gets the work done for them.

‘If it is solving my problem, then I am happy to use it‘, should be the motto of every great developer. Being technology bound only limits the potential and the opportunities of a software developer.

So, keep yourself open to new technologies. Having said that, it is also equally important for software developers to find their niche where they want to dominate. Because learning everything and not using them effectively is not a very good idea.

These are only some of the ideas from my side which I think sets apart an average software developer from an effective software developer. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below and if you liked the post and learned something, then please share this post with others as well.

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