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SDLC & Agile Methodologies: Practical experience with the Software Development Life Cycle. You must understand how to manage a product backlog, write user stories, and participate in sprint ceremonies (Scrum/Kanban).
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System Integration & Data Mapping: A capability to document how data flows between disparate systems (e.g., from an enrollment portal to the central SIS, or out to a State Reporting database) using Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs).
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Testing & Quality Assurance: Leading User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and writing detailed test cases to ensure new Java-based features meet the specific needs of school registrars or principals.
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SQL Mastery preferred: The ability to write complex queries to validate data integrity across distributed databases, troubleshoot "ghost" records, and pull ad-hoc reports for district leadership.
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Student Information Systems (SIS) Knowledge: Deep familiarity with core school functions like Attendance, Grading, Scheduling, and Special Education (IEP) workflows.
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Regulatory Compliance: Understanding of FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and state-specific data reporting requirements.
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Process Modeling: The ability to map "As-Is" vs. "To-Be" workflows. For example, "How does a teacher currently submit a grade change, and how should the system automate that process?"
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Requirements Elicitation: The skill of "interviewing" non-technical stakeholders (who may not know exactly what they need) to extract clear, actionable requirements.
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Stakeholder Management: Navigating the needs of diverse groups, from high-level District
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Superintendents to a single school's office clerk.
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Complexity Decomposition: The ability to take a large problem (e.g., "The state changed the graduation requirement formula") and break it down into small, technical tasks for the development team.
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"Translational" Communication - the ability to speak to a teacher in the morning and a Java developer in the afternoon.
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Radical Empathy & User Advocacy - understand the high-stress, "boots-on-the-ground" reality of a school day and the roles of the people involved in day-to-day school operations.
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Active Listening: Ability to conduct interviews with diverse stakeholders to uncover underlying needs beyond the stated requirements.
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Adaptability: Comfortable pivoting priorities in response to sudden changes in state mandates or district policy.
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Systems Thinking: Capable of understanding how a single change in the enrollment module ripples across transportation, grading, and funding.
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Patience: Experience training and supporting users with varying levels of technical proficiency.
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