Professional Capability Gap Analysis Report for Software Developers

This report presents a comprehensive professional capability gap analysis specifically tailored for software developers. It begins by identifying the key technical and soft skills essential for success and career advancement in the field, including proficiency in various coding languages such as Java, Python, JavaScript, and C++, as well as soft skills like teamwork, critical thinking, and the ability to meet deadlines. The report then analyzes specific capability gaps, focusing on domain-specific knowledge, critical thinking abilities, and teamwork experience. For each gap, the report outlines strategies for improvement, such as contributing to open-source projects, pursuing certification courses, engaging in practical projects, and participating in internships. The analysis references relevant research and industry standards to support its findings, providing a practical guide for software developers to assess and enhance their professional capabilities.

Running head: PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
Background work for the Professional Capability Gap Analysis report:
Key skills for the job profile of software developer:
In order to be a successful software developer and attain a significant carrier growth, the
following skills are must for every job aspirant looking forward for a successful carrier in the
software development domain. These skills have been identified after analyzing the job
description profiles thoroughly.
Technical skills:
Followings are the key technical skills for the software developers:
Clear knowledge of the best practices applied to the software engineering:
There are certain standards, applicable to the software domain, that a successful software
engineer should be aware of. These standards include basics like proper utilization of version
control system so that old work or codes can be retrieved whenever needed, no matter when the
version of the code was created (1). The professional should also be aware of various robust
testing protocols on which the code is employed (2).
According to the industry experts, the act of writing code is not only about the science
and technology put forward, it is also about the art that the professionals should master with the
knowledge of the industry’s best practices and proper experience (3).

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
Experience of various Coding Languages:
Due to the complexity and variety of project that the industry deals with, knowledge of
any single programming language is not enough. The candidates must be comfortable in working
with various coding languages. Otherwise, it is very difficult to excel in the domain (4) . Many
software engineers prefer to master any important language and become expertise in that domain.
It is completely fine to build an area of expertise, but several domains should be explored to
remain in the field that is highly competitive and challenging as well.
Here are the top programming languages currently in demand, arranged as per the popularity
from highest to lowest (5):
1. Java
2. Python
3. JavaScript
4. C++
5. C#
6. PHP
7. Perl
Apart from those top seven languages, some honorable mentions include:
 Swift
 R
 Rust
Additionally, knowledge in some key software frameworks like SQL, .NET, NODE is also
very important and plays a vital role in providing an extra edge over the competitors.

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
Soft skills for software development professionals:
Ability to work in tight deadline:
Most of the times the projects need to be submitted within deadline and the professionals
must be well prepared for that to work effectively (6).
Passion for teamwork:
The software development projects are often executed in team and having the ability to
work in the team is must for the professionals (7).
Willingness to learn:
The professionals should be always open to learn new things whenever the project
demands for some new skill previously unexplored by the individuals (8).
Critical thinking:
Software developers often face situations where they need to analyze the possible
solution and choose the appropriate one, which can only be done through proper critical
reasoning (9). This particular soft skill is often regarded as the most important of all.
Professional Capability Gap Analysis report:

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
Ref: Capabilities –software
developer should have
the ability to:
GLO1 GLO4 GLO7 Weaknesses
C1 Solve problems applying
domain specific
Knowledge (14)
 Lack of domain
specific knowledge
C2 Think critically to be able
to chose the appropriate
solution(14)
 Lack of critical
thinking ability
C3 Ability to work in a team
to achieve a common
goal(14)
 Lack of teamwork
experience.

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
Analysis of GLOs:
Type of GLO Deals with Procedure to improve Relevant
capability(gap)
GLO1 Domain specific knowledge
Discipline specific
knowledge includes
expertise in software
system and coding
techniques.
To improve domain
specific knowledge
following are some
important steps to
follow:
Contribution to
open source
project:
The aspiring
software developer
can learn a lot by
contributing to the
project that are open
source and by doing
C1

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
this developers can
increase their
theoretical
knowledge by
combining with the
practical aspects.
This also helps to
improve the coding
skills (10).
Analysis of source
code:
In order to make an
understanding for
codes and more
specifically what
good code looks
like , there is hardly
any better options
than reading codes
from good sources
and this a must for
software developers
(11).

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
Certification
courses:
Candidates should
follow some good
certification courses
to learn and improve
the skill. These
certificate courses
are of great values in
the market and it will
definitely add some
extra to the core
knowledge in the
software specific
domain.
1. Microsoft
Certified
Solutions
Developer
(MCSD) (12)
2. Microsoft
Technology
Associate

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
(MTA)
3. Oracle
(APEX)
4. Cloudera
Certified
Developer
for Apache
Hadoop
(CCDH)
5. Amazon Web
Services-
AWS (13)
6. Oracle (OCP)
MySQL
GLO4 Critical thinking Critical thinking
plays an important
role in developing
analytical skill. Even
though it is
something beyond
the technical aspect,
it should be treated
C2

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
with equal
importance.
Following are some
strategies to develop
critical thinking:
Engage in various
practical projects:
Critical thinking is
developed by
analyzing problems
related to various
practical projects. It
is necessary to think
a problem through
various perspective
and it can only be
improved through
experience of
working in real
projects that involves
problem solving skill
Some philosophical
courses:

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
Even though it may
sound completely
irrelevant regarding
to the domain, but a
philosophical course
can surely improve
the way of thinking.
Although, the degree
itself is not
important, but
attending the course
will surely improve
the thinking ability
(15).
Following are some
affordable Udemy
course one can
follow :
 Critical
Thinker
Academy:
Learn to
Think Like a

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PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY GAP ANALYSIS
Philosopher
 Mastering
Thinking
Skills Vol 1:
The 12
Fundamental
Skills
 How to
Think
Independentl
y and Be
More Self-
Confident
GLO7 Team work Software developers
often need to work in
a team to finish
assigned project. in
order to work in a
team and deliver
efficiently,
C3