Hello everyone! My name is Awdren Fontão, I'm a researcher and professor at UFMS, and today I'm bringing detailed, research-based content for those who work or wish to work in the Developer Relations (DevRel) field. Our research group, specifically Ana Cunha in her master's research, conducted a study to identify the most valued skills by professionals in the DevRel area, aiming to help you and your organization better understand what competencies should be developed.
The complete article is available here: full access.
What is DevRel? 💻🔗🤝
DevRel is an organizational area dedicated to maintaining collaborative relationships between developer communities and organizations, especially those based on software ecosystems. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft employ DevRel teams to foster community engagement, facilitate communication, and provide a positive experience for developers around their technology platforms.
Why Identifying Specific DevRel Skills Matters 📈🔍🎯
There's a frequent challenge in the DevRel industry: clearly defining the necessary skills. Many companies struggle to find professionals adequately prepared for DevRel roles, especially in leadership positions. This difficulty arises due to insufficient training and a lack of understanding regarding the real demands of this relatively new field. Our research aims precisely to bridge this gap between academia and industry by providing a detailed list of the necessary competencies for DevRel professionals.
Research Methodology 📝🌍🔬
We conducted a quantitative opinion survey with 24 participants from ten different countries. These participants occupied various roles such as DevRel Manager, Developer Advocate, Technical Evangelist, among others, and had an average of 5.45 years of experience in the area. The survey sought to identify which technical (hard skills) and interpersonal (soft skills) abilities are most relevant for the education and professional performance in DevRel.
Research Results 📊✨🔑
After analysis, we identified a set of 28 essential skills, clearly highlighting interpersonal (soft skills) as predominant.
Detailed Discussion on Soft Skills 🌟🗣️👥
Interpersonal skills are fundamental in DevRel as they directly involve relationships with diverse and dynamic communities. Professionals in this area must constantly remain updated and open to learning, as technologies and community needs evolve rapidly. Effective communication and active listening are particularly important to understand expectations and provide adequate support to communities, maintaining long-lasting and productive relationships. Moreover, teamwork is crucial, as DevRel interacts with multiple organizational sectors, ensuring internal alignment of strategic goals to better serve communities.
Main Soft Skills Identified:
- Willingness to learn (95.8%): Crucial ability to stay updated in a rapidly changing technological environment.
- Communication skills (95.8%): Essential to ensure effective communication between companies and developer communities.
- Interpersonal skills (91.7%): Allow better interaction with diverse audiences and facilitate building lasting relationships.
- Active listening (91.7%): Essential for understanding the real demands and needs of communities.
- Teamwork (87.5%): DevRel is highly collaborative, requiring synergy among various organizational sectors.
Detailed Discussion on Hard Skills ⚙️📐🔧
Technical skills also play an essential role, as they enable DevRel professionals to deeply understand the products and services they promote. Marketing knowledge is highly valued, as effective strategies are necessary to engage and retain developers within communities. Likewise, proficiency in programming and software development allows professionals to create valuable technical resources and provide practical support to communities. Software design skills are also critical to ensure the technical resources provided are intuitive and efficient, enhancing the developer experience. Additionally, competencies in project management and user research are fundamental for aligning actions with strategic objectives and the real needs of the community.
Main Hard Skills Identified:
- Marketing (83.3%): Fundamental knowledge to promote products and create community engagement strategies.
- Programming and software development (70.8%): Necessary to understand and demonstrate technical products to communities.
- Software design (58.3%): Relevant to create and optimize technical resources and ensure a positive experience for developers.
- Project management (58.3%): Essential for coordinating actions and initiatives involving diverse teams and communities.
- User research (50%): Important to identify and validate developer needs and expectations, ensuring more effective actions.
Conclusion and Next Steps 🚩📖🔜
The results of this study provide valuable guidance for organizations and professionals seeking to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their DevRel activities. Recognizing these essential competencies will allow for better professional training and help companies build robust DevRel teams prepared for market challenges.
In upcoming articles, I will provide more insights into how to develop these skills in practice and share new findings from our research group.
References 📚📌🔖
- Cunha, A. E., Cafeo, B. B. P., Viana, D., & Fontão, A. (2022). A Survey on Skills of DevRel professionals. XVIII Brazilian Symposium on Information Systems.