Developer’s Plan

Sample Ladder Progression for a developer

As an example of career progression on Construx’s professional development ladder, this page outlines the progression of a technically-oriented engineer from Level 10, through Level 11, and to Level 12. The target leadership areas for this engineer are Construction, Design, and Tools and Methods. The table below shows the requirements for the engineer to achieve Level 12.

CKA

Introductory

Competence

Leadership

Configuration Management x
Design x x x
Construction x x x
Engineering Management x x
Process x x
Tools and Methods x x x
Maintenance x
Quality x x
Requirements x x
Test x x

Level 10

The following table outlines the reading, classes, work experience, and so on, that need to be completed for the engineer to progress from level 9 to level 10. During this time, the engineer obtains introductory capability in all knowledge areas and competence in construction, design, and tools and methods.

Activity Type      Details
Work Experience
  • Act as a developer on at least one project
  • Act as a backup construction lead on at least one project
  • Act as a backup design lead on at least one project
  • Develop unit or module level test cases for a project
  • Write one or more designs
  • Participate in the release process of a project
  • Perform personal planning and tracking on a project
  • Participate in a code review
  • Participate in a design review
  • Participate in an informal review
  • Participate in an inspection review a project’s documentation including the quality plan, test plans, test cases, project plans, schedules, and work breakdown structures
Reading
  • Code Complete 2nd Edition, Steve McConnell
  • Programming Pearls 2nd Edition, Jon Bentley
  • Refactoring, Martin Fowler
  • Applying UML & Patterns, Craig Larman
  • The Art of Testing, Glenford Myers
  • Conceptual Blockbusting, James Adams
  • Software Creativity, Robert Glass
Training
  • 10x Software Engineering – Individuals
  • Developer Boot Camp
  • Design Boot Camp
  • Model-Based Design
  • Code Complete Essentials

Level 11

The following table outlines the reading, classes, work experience, and so on, that need to be completed for the engineer to progress from level 10 to level 11. During this time, the engineer obtains competence in test, engineering management, and requirements along with leadership in construction.

Activity Type     Details
Work Experience
  • Create at least six different production modules with automated unit tests
  • Create a test design for a subsystem
  • Lead collaborative construction efforts
  • Lead a performance profiling / tuning effort
  • Act as a construction lead on at least one major project
  • Act as backup quality lead on at least one project
  • Act as backup planning and tracking lead on at least one project
  • Participate in a test focused role on a project
  • Participate in the elicitation and specification of requirements
  • Participate in the creation of a project charter and project plan
  • Participate in the creation of a project estimate
  • Participate in the creation of a use case specification
  • Participate in the review of a test plan and test cases, requirements specifications, and project plans
Reading
  • Mastering the Requirements Process, Robertson and Robertson
  • User Stories Applied, Mike Cohn
  • Writing Efficient Programs, John Bentley
  • Writing Solid Code, Steve Maquire
  • Software Implementation, Michael Marcotty
  • More Programming Pearls, John Bentley
  • Testing Object-Oriented Systems, Robert Binder
  • Rapid Development, Steve McConnell
Training
  • Developer Testing Boot Camp
  • Requirements Boot Camp
  • Agile Requirements In Depth
  • Software Project Management Boot Camp
  • Software Estimation In Depth

Level 12

The following table outlines the reading, classes, work experience, and so on, that need to be completed for the engineer to progress from level 11 to level 12. During this time, the engineer obtains competence in quality and process along with leadership in design and tools and methods.

Activity Type     Details
Work Experience
  • Act as design lead on at least one major project
  • Write two or more designs on a major project
Reading
  • Design Patterns, Erich Gamma et all
  • Object Oriented Software Construction, Bertrand Meyer
  • Object Oriented Analysis and Design, Grady Booch
  • Software Architecture in Practice, Bass et all
  • Balancing Agility with Discipline, Boehm and Turner
Training
  • Design Pattern Essentials
  • Peer Reviews in Depth