There is actual peer-reviewed research about what makes a good software engineer which you can find easily with the right tools. This 2015 paper using a sample set of 59 Microsoft engineers across different divisions is one such study: https://faculty.washington.edu/ajko/papers/Li2015GreatEngine...
My experience in the industry is that no one in charge of either hiring or promotion is aware of the research, and have chosen to structure the systems that support them without data and prone to biases. The most bizarre aspect of our industry is that there is a high emphasis on work output, whether that be measured in LOC, number of PRs, number of releases, number of "story points," etc. or another measure, and yet low value of those same metrics in promotion processes.
I don't actually think those are great metrics to base career advancement on, but the contradiction is egregious.
Practical science in software engineering is generally disappointing, and this article fits that mold.
In their own words,
> The lack of specificity in our understanding ... Our understanding also lacks breadth: ... We took a first step in addressing these gaps
This doesn't represent established science, it represents a probative study. Moreover:
> Of the 152 engineers we contacted, we interviewed 59
That's pretty bad from a perspective of statistical strength, they size of the response bias is larger than the resulting sample itself. The sample is also quite small. In these days where the replication is well known, one should take the concrete results with a grain of salt. It's a good study, but much more is necessary to be actionable advice.
My experience in the industry is that no one in charge of either hiring or promotion is aware of the research, and have chosen to structure the systems that support them without data and prone to biases. The most bizarre aspect of our industry is that there is a high emphasis on work output, whether that be measured in LOC, number of PRs, number of releases, number of "story points," etc. or another measure, and yet low value of those same metrics in promotion processes.
I don't actually think those are great metrics to base career advancement on, but the contradiction is egregious.