If you have ever wondered why new software graduates are so poorly prepared to work, then you must read this wonderful paper. It explains the challenges facing new college graduates and university curricula.

Jump directly to Section 4, and see the results of their studies. Of course, the authors found that software people have trouble reading and writing specifications. As expected, I read in Section 4.2 that communication, collaboration, and cognition skills are lacking in new college graduates. Accreditation boards look for such material in curricula, and too often don’t find much; I was surprised to see the ability to use tools for large-system development on the list.

The lack of--and need for--critical thinking is emphasized by the authors in their recommendation: “In a data structures class, an instructor might engage students in critical reflection on their work by providing them with a sample, buggy, solution of an assignment recently completed.” Then, he might ask the students “to grade the [buggy] solution ... [and] log bugs in a bug database.”

I urge all educators, recruiters, and new graduates to read and study this short, pithy article, and use it as a checklist against both their own as well as job seekers’ critical skills.