Key information

  1. Reference: ST0116
  2. Date updated: 14/07/2021
  3. Level: 4
  4. Route: Digital
  5. Regulated occupation: No
Print occupational standard

Details of the occupational standard

Information Symbol

Higher Technical Qualification

Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) are designed to be delivered within a course of education. Some Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours may be more safely and reliably delivered in workplace settings, so may not be fully covered by the HTQ. Some qualifications will deliver additional content or added depth and breadth through, for example, use of specialist learning environments, work placements or innovative teaching methods. Check with the qualification provider if you require further information on coverage.

Occupation summary

This occupation is found across every sector for example, Financial Services, Computer Gaming, Retail, Transport, Security and Defence in organisations ranging from large multi-nationals, public sector bodies and government projects developing multi-billion-pound software solutions to support key projects to small consultancy firms designing bespoke software solutions for clients.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to understand a client's requirements as provided in design specification and then build and test high-quality code solutions to deliver the best outcome.

Software developers are the creative minds behind computer programs. Some develop the applications that allow people to do specific tasks on a computer or another device. Others develop the underlying systems that run the devices or that control networks.

For example, a software developer may work on Transport ticketing systems, traffic light control systems, customer-facing websites for journey planning and account management, internal websites for monitoring the status of train and road networks. Bespoke asset management systems.

In a computer gaming context, a software developer may work with a creative digital design team to give life to the teams ideas through the delivery of effective code to provide an attractive gaming experience that can give the product a commercial advantage.

In a retail context a software developer may work on delivering coding solutions to deliver online retail opportunities for businesses that provide a responsive and secure trading environment for customers to purchase goods and interact with the retailer.

Organisations use software to ensure that their operations become ever more effective and robustly reduce the incidence of downtime by building quality tested software solutions to give a better service. For example, in commercial organisations this can give them a competitive advantage by being able to analyse significant amounts of data quickly and efficiently to provide the business with information and management systems. This can save time and help the business spot profit making opportunities. For public sector bodies the right software solution can drive up performance and help target scarce resources more effectively and ensure that customer expectations are more likely to be met.

A software developer in a medium to large organisation will typically be working as part of a larger team, in which they will have responsibility for some of the straightforward elements of the overall project. In a smaller enterprise a software developer may be working as the only developer on a project but under direct supervision. A software developer will interpret design documentation and specifications provided by more experienced or specialist members of the team, such as a business analyst or technical architect.

In their daily work, a Software Developer interacts with internal and external parties including users/customers (to understand their needs and test the software developed through user testing) and team members from a range of specialist fields including designers, developers, engineers, analysts and project/delivery managers (to ensure the effective implementation of software solutions). A developer will typically be working as part of a larger team, in which they will have responsibility for some of the straightforward elements of the overall project. The developer will need to be able to interpret design documentation and specifications. The customer requirements will typically be defined and agreed by more experienced or specialist members of the team, such as a business analyst or technical architect.

A Software Developer is typically office-based however field-based research and testing may require periods of time working in the environments of the clients whose needs they are seeking to meet.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for developing software solutions across the full software development life cycle from research and development, through continuous improvement, to product/service retirement. They may work both autonomously and as part of wider teams, typically reporting to a more senior member of their team.

Typical job titles include:

Web developer Application developer Mobile application developer Software developer

Occupation duties

Duty KSBs

Duty 1 Take and interpret given software development requirements to estimate effort to deliver the work product to enable accurate costs to be established.

K1 K2 K3 K6 K7

S7 S11 S17

B1 B2 B8

Duty 2 Break software development activities down into logical units of work to enable sequencing and ensure the best possible structuring of activities to deliver a high quality product right first time.

K1 K3 K6 K7 K9

S1 S7 S8 S16 S17

B1 B2

Duty 3 Report progress accurately throughout the development life-cycle stages to ensure adequate audit trails of key worksteps such that the organisation can demonstrate how the product has been created for quality and commercial purposes.

K1 K2 K3 K4 K6 K8

S15

B4

Duty 4 Identify and report any impediments to software development activities and propose practical solutions.

K7 K10

S7 S9

B1 B5 B6 B7 B8

Duty 5 Convert customer requirements into technical requirements, both functional and non-functional to ensure that customers' expectations are accurately reflected in the software products developed.

K1 K2 K3

S2 S9 S11 S12 S14 S17

B1 B2 B3 B4 B6 B7 B8

Duty 6 Identify and select the most appropriate technical solution, taking into consideration coding best practice and appropriate quality standards.

K7 K9 K10 K11

S1 S8 S9 S11 S12 S16 S17

B5 B6 B8 B9

Duty 7 Communicate software development solutions to a range of internal or external stakeholders to ensure clear understanding of requirements and how they have been met or adjusted.

K1 K2 K3 K4 K6

S15

B1 B4 B6 B7

Duty 8 Consider security implications of proposed design to ensure that security considerations are built in from inception and throughout the development process.

K7 K8 K11

S1 S2 S3 S8 S11 S17

B5 B8

Duty 9 Write logical and maintainable software solutions to meet the design and organisational coding standards (Software Development Lifecycle -Implementation and Build phase).

K9 K11

S1 S2 S3 S8 S10 S11 S12 S16

B2 B3

Duty 10 Apply security best practice to the software solution throughout the software development life-cycle.

K7 K8

S8 S11 S12

B5

Duty 11 Create and maintain appropriate project documentation to explain the development process and resources used.

K1 K3 K5 K8

S9

B2 B3

Duty 12 Apply appropriate recovery techniques to ensure the software solution being developed is not lost (Software Development Lifecycle -Implementation and Build phase).

K7

B1 B9

Duty 13 Implement appropriate change control to ensure that software development changes may be tracked and quality risks managed.

K1 K2 K3 K5 K6 K8

B2

Duty 14 Undertake unit testing of solutions, with appropriate levels of test code coverage, to identify and, where necessary, resolve issues (Software Development Lifecycle -Implementation and Build phase).

K9 K11 K12

S4 S5 S6 S7 S13

B6

Duty 15 Perfom testing of the software solution to ensure a high quality output (Software Development Lifecycle -Test phase).

K9 K11 K12

S4 S5 S6 S13

B3 B8 B9

Duty 16 Deliver a suitably documented deployable solution to the customer for their use (Software Development Lifecycle -Deploy phase).

K1 K2 K3 K5

S2 S8 S9 S10 S15

B3

Duty 17 Support delivery of one or more software deployment phases, such as trials and final release, to ensure that software developer outcomes are deployed correctly.

K2 K5 K6 K8

S5 S6 S10

B1 B4 B7

Duty 18 Provide support during software trials and after final release to ensure that customers understand and can correctly apply the product, and risks are mitigated.

K2 K5

B4 B9

Duty 19 Respond appropriately to given Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to ensure that time and resources invested in software development activity are allocated appropriately to deliver good customer service.

K1 K2 K3 K5 K6 K7 K8

S14

B1 B6 B8 B9

Duty 20 Apply suitable 'bug fix', appropriate to the severity and priority of the software development issue identified.

K12

S4 S7 S13

B6

Duty 21 Practice continuous self learning to keep up to date with technological developments to enhance relevant skills and take responsibility for own professional development.

B1 B3 B8 B9

KSBs

Knowledge

K1: all stages of the software development life-cycle (what each stage contains, including the inputs and outputs) Back to Duty

K2: roles and responsibilities within the software development lifecycle (who is responsible for what) Back to Duty

K3: the roles and responsibilities of the project life-cycle within your organisation, and your role Back to Duty

K4: how best to communicate using the different communication methods and how to adapt appropriately to different audiences Back to Duty

K5: the similarities and differences between different software development methodologies, such as agile and waterfall. Back to Duty

K6: how teams work effectively to produce software and how to contribute appropriately Back to Duty

K7: software design approaches and patterns, to identify reusable solutions to commonly occurring problems Back to Duty

K8: organisational policies and procedures relating to the tasks being undertaken, and when to follow them. For example the storage and treatment of GDPR sensitive data. Back to Duty

K9: algorithms, logic and data structures relevant to software development for example:- arrays- stacks- queues- linked lists- trees- graphs- hash tables- sorting algorithms- searching algorithms- critical sections and race conditions Back to Duty

K10: principles and uses of relational and non-relational databases Back to Duty

K11: software designs and functional or technical specifications Back to Duty

K12: software testing frameworks and methodologies Back to Duty

Skills

S1: create logical and maintainable code Back to Duty

S2: develop effective user interfaces Back to Duty

S3: link code to data sets Back to Duty

S4: test code and analyse results to correct errors found using unit testing Back to Duty

S5: conduct a range of test types, such as Integration, System, User Acceptance, Non-Functional, Performance and Security testing. Back to Duty

S6: identify and create test scenarios Back to Duty

S7: apply structured techniques to problem solving, debug code and understand the structure of programmes in order to identify and resolve issues Back to Duty

S8: create simple software designs to effectively communicate understanding of the program Back to Duty

S9: create analysis artefacts, such as use cases and/or user stories Back to Duty

S10: build, manage and deploy code into the relevant environment Back to Duty

S11: apply an appropriate software development approach according to the relevant paradigm (for example object oriented, event driven or procedural) Back to Duty

S12: follow software designs and functional or technical specifications Back to Duty

S13: follow testing frameworks and methodologies Back to Duty

S14: follow company, team or client approaches to continuous integration, version and source control Back to Duty

S15: communicate software solutions and ideas to technical and non-technical stakeholders Back to Duty

S16: apply algorithms, logic and data structures Back to Duty

S17: interpret and implement a given design whist remaining compliant with security and maintainability requirements Back to Duty

Behaviours

B1: Works independently and takes responsibility. For example, has a disciplined and responsible approach to risk and stays motivated and committed when facing challenges Back to Duty

B2: Applies logical thinking. For example, uses clear and valid reasoning when making decisions related to undertaking work instructions Back to Duty

B3: Maintains a productive, professional and secure working environment Back to Duty

B4: Works collaboratively with a wide range of people in different roles, internally and externally, with a positive attitude to inclusion & diversity Back to Duty

B5: Acts with integrity with respect to ethical, legal and regulatory ensuring the protection of personal data, safety and security. Back to Duty

B6: Shows initiative and takes responsibility for solving problems within their own remit, being resourceful when faced with a problem to solve. Back to Duty

B7: Communicates effectively in a variety of situations to both a technical and non-technical audience. Back to Duty

B8: Shows curiosity to the business context in which the solution will be used, displaying an inquisitive approach to solving the problem. This includes the curiosity to explore new opportunities, techniques and the tenacity to improve methods and maximise performance of the solution and creativity in their approach to solutions. Back to Duty

B9: Committed to continued professional development. Back to Duty

CertHE in Software Engineering

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 4

Applicant: Petroc College of Further and Higher Education

Awarding body: University of Plymouth

Approval date: 01/01/0001

Occupational pathway: N/A

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE) Software Development

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 4

Applicant: Nottingham Trent University

Awarding body: Nottingham Trent University

Approval date: 01/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Certificate of Higher Education in Software Developer

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 4

Applicant: London South Bank University

Awarding body: London South Bank University

Approval date: 02/03/2023

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Certificate of Higher Education in Technical Practice in Software Development

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: Sheffield Hallam University

Awarding body: Sheffield Hallam University

Approval date: 02/03/2023

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Certificate of Higher Education Software Development

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 4

Applicant: University Academy 92 Limited (UA92)

Awarding body: Lancaster University

Approval date: 08/07/2022

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Digital Modular Programme in Software Development

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 4

Applicant: BCS

Awarding body: BCS

Approval date: 08/07/2022

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) Software Developer

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: University of Brighton

Awarding body: University of Brighton

Approval date: 08/07/2022

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Diploma of Higher Education in Software Development

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: The Open University

Awarding body: The Open University

Approval date: 01/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

FD Software Development

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: Leeds City College

Awarding body: Leeds City College

Approval date: 01/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

ST0129 Software tester

FdSc Computing

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: University Centre South Devon (UCSD) - South Devon College

Awarding body: University of Plymouth

Approval date: 30/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0127 Network engineer

ST0116 Software developer

FdSc Digital and Technology Solutions

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: TEC Partnership

Awarding body: TEC Partnership

Approval date: 01/01/0001

Occupational pathway: N/A

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

FdSc Software Developer

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: Buckinghamshire New University

Awarding body: Buckinghamshire New University

Approval date: 01/01/0001

Occupational pathway: N/A

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

FdSc Software Development

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: New College Durham

Awarding body: New College Durham

Approval date: 01/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

FdSc Software Development

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: City College Plymouth

Awarding body: University of Plymouth

Approval date: 01/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Foundation Degree of Science (FdSc) in Computer Science

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: Staffordshire University

Awarding body: Staffordshire University

Approval date: 01/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Software Developer

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Foundation Degree Software Development

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 9

Applicant: University of Derby

Awarding body: University of Derby

Approval date: 01/01/0001

Occupational pathway: N/A

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Foundation Degree Software Engineering

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: NCG

Awarding body: NCG

Approval date: 08/07/2022

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Foundation Degree: FD Computing and Digital Technologies

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: University Centre Somerset - Bridgwater & Taunton College

Awarding body: The Open University

Approval date: 01/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Foundation Science Computing

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: University of Central Lancashire

Awarding body: University of Central Lancashire

Approval date: 08/07/2022

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

HNC Computing

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 4

Applicant: Nelson and Colne College

Awarding body: Liverpool John Moores University

Approval date: 01/01/0001

Occupational pathway: N/A

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Level 4 Diploma In Computing

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 4

Applicant: NCC Education

Awarding body: NCC Education

Approval date: 01/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Not applicable

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Computing for England

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: Pearson

Awarding body: Pearson

Approval date: 01/06/2021

Occupational pathway: Software Engineering

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0116 Software developer

Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Digital Technologies for England

Qualification type: HTQ

Qualification level: 5

Applicant: Pearson

Awarding body: Pearson

Approval date: 08/07/2022

Occupational pathway: Cyber Security; Cloud Networking; Software Development and Programming; Data Analytics; Digital Communications Management; Business Analytics and Change Management; Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions and Applications

Placement: No

Aligned occupational standards

ST0345 Digital community manager

ST0127 Network engineer

ST0116 Software developer

ST0129 Software tester

ST0118 Data analyst

ST0117 Business analyst

ST1021 Cyber security technologist (2021)

Options: Cyber Security Engineer , Cyber Risk Analyst , Cyber Defend & Respond

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