"De har köpt värsta herrgården men använder bara skafferiet" : En kvalitativ fallstudie av mjuka kompetensers betydelse för värdeskapande inom IT-branschen

When our society is undergoing a shift from a product driven to a service driven economy, this affects the competences that is needed in the work with IT. Research regarding soft skills and evaluation of IT-project success have been conducted throughout the years. There is, however a gap in knowledge around which these soft skills are and how they bring value to different stakeholders in the IT-industry. This research paper therefore aims to fill this gap and answer the questions: What is soft skills? and What are the possibilities and challenges associated with soft skills? To answer these questions data is collected through literature and interviews with people within the IT-field. The research paper focuses on an IT-consultancy and the majority of the interviews are therefore conducted with people within this consultancy. To make a broader understanding on the subject two additional interviews are conducted with representatives from two other IT-organisations. The results from the data collection show that soft skills include: analytical skills, empathic skills, leadership skills, social skills and problem solving skills. The results also show that soft skills lead to better use of systems for customers, more business opportunities for the IT- consultancies and the provider. It also becomes apparent that soft skills come with different types of challenges. These are issues such as how to argue the importance of soft skills for customers, as well as how to value the performed labour carried out by a consultant in possession of soft competence. Our conclusion shows that soft skills are needed in IT- projects and that the competence must get more space both in the literature and within the industry. To solve the issues, communication is concluded to be the key. This study contributes with a framework for how value is contributed to all the included parties in an IT-project.