Duties

As an apprenticeship software developer you are expected to fulfil 21 "duties" when you work on projects. These define the roles and responsibilities that make up the job, and are primarily what you will be assessed on at the end of your apprenticeship.

  1. D1

    Estimate time and effort

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

    K1K2K3K6K7S7S11S17B1B2B8

  2. D2

    Plan your sprints

    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.

    K1K3K6K7K9S1S7S8S16S17B1B2

  3. D3

    Track your progress

    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.

    K1K2K3K4K6K8S15B4

  4. D4

    Remove blockers

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

    K7K10S7S9B1B5B6B7B8

  5. D5

    Understand what to build

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

    K1K2K3S2S9S11S12S14S17B1B2B3B4B6B7B8

  6. D6

    Make technical decisions

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

    K7K9K10K11S1S8S9S11S12S16S17B5B6B8B9

  7. D7

    Explain your process

    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.

    K1K2K3K4K6S15B1B4B6B7

  8. D8

    Design secure solutions

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

    K7K8K11S1S2S3S8S11S17B5B8

  9. D9

    Take pride in your code

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

    K9K11S1S2S3S8S10S11S12S16B2B3

  10. D10

    Write secure code

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

    K7K8S8S11S12B5

  11. D11

    Document everything

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

    K1K3K5K8S9B2B3

  12. D12

    Back up your code

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

    K7B1B9

  13. D13

    Use source control

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

    K1K2K3K5K6K8B2

  14. D14

    Unit test

    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).

    K9K11K12S4S5S6S7S13B6

  15. D15

    Quality assurance

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

    K9K11K12S4S5S6S13B3B8B9

  16. D16

    Deploy your code

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

    K1K2K3K5S2S8S9S10S15B3

  17. D17

    Deploy staging environments

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

    K2K5K6K8S5S6S10B1B4B7

  18. D18

    Support your software

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

    K2K5B4B9

  19. D19

    Scope bug fixes

    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.

    K1K2K3K5K6K7K8S14B1B6B8B9

  20. D20

    Prioritise bug fixes

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

    K12S4S7S13B6

  21. D21

    Keep learning

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

    B1B3B8B9