EXCELLENT SOFTWARE PROFESSIONALS - EXPERIENCE, WORK ACTIVITIES, AND PERCEPTION BY PEERS

This paper reports findings of a field study examining expertise in 29 software development projects. Using a peer nomination method, 33 out of 200 subjects were characterized as excellent software professional s. Excellent software professionals are described as having high techn ical and computational knowledge, a high level of social skills, and a s using a method-oriented working style. They have a broader, not long er professional experience than do their colleagues. Excellent and ave rage software professionals do not differ with respect to time spent o n typical software development activities such as design, coding, or t esting, but excellent software professionals are more often engaged in review meetings and consultations than are other team members.