Nature and Importance of Soft Skills in Software Project Leaders

Abstract

Indian software industry has had a phenomenal growth since the last decade of the twentieth century. Indian software industry is expected to play a much bigger role in the new millenium in the growth of Indian economy. In the light of the research findings that lack of soft skills is one of the key reasons for the high rate of failure of information systems projects, this study assesses the difficulties experienced by Indian IT project leaders in executing projects and the need for learning soft skills. Through role diagnostic workshop of Indian software professionals and in-depth interviews of various stakeholders, the study identifies various soft skills required by software professionals in leadership position, such as self-related soft skills, leadership and managerial skills, followed by knowledge and skills related to business domain, customers, project and process management. The findings are discussed in a larger context of why technical professionals are reluctant to occupy managerial positions and the impact of lack of soft skills in leaders and team members on project success.