[dar512]

Done.

Glatt. I'm guessing your sister is looking for information as to what communications skills to teach to software engineers. I'm not sure the survey will get her the answers she's looking for. The problem is with the wording. We don't evaluate applicants on any kind of communication skills. It is assumed that they have them or will learn them.

On the other hand, there are a number of communications skills that engineers would benefit from. It would ease their entry into the workplace.

Engineers need to know how to:

Precisely describe the current behavior of a piece of software - for bugs.
Concisely and precisely describe the desired behavior of new software.
Participate in external (UI) and internal (architecture) design discussions.
Small group presentation skills.
And of course all the usual office skills - phone, email etc.
IM is just becoming a big thing in the office setting as an alternative to a phone call.