What Does the Brazilian Industry Expect from Product Owners? An Analysis of Soft Skills in Job Postings
Resumo
The Product Owner (PO) plays a central role in agile software development by connecting stakeholders and development teams. This study identifies and analyzes the soft skills required of POs in the Brazilian software industry by analyzing 202 job postings published between July and October 2025 on LinkedIn, Gupy, and Glassdoor. The results indicate a predominance of skills related to communication, analytical abilities, collaboration, and negotiation. Notably, communication appears in 54% of the analyzed postings, making it the most frequently mentioned soft skill. The findings contribute to understanding the competencies valued by the industry and may support the development of professional resumes and academic curricula for PO training.Referências
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Börner, K., Scrivner, O., Gallant, M., na Ma, S., Liu, X., Chewning, K., Wu, L., and Evans, J. A. (2018). Skill discrepancies between research, education, and jobs reveal the critical need to supply soft skills for the data economy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115:12630 – 12637.
Cavalcante, V., Costa, C., and Soares, D. (2024). Beyond code: the development of soft skills through training in software engineering. In Anais do XXXVIII Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software, pages 521–531, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
Coelho, M., Araújo, A., Freire, S., and Paixao, M. (2024). Um estudo comparativo entre a visão de líderes e liderados sobre a importância de soft skills em desenvolvimento de software. In Anais do IX Workshop sobre Aspectos Sociais, Humanos e Econômicos de Software, pages 130–140, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
Diniz, W., Gadelha, B., Steinmacher, I., and França, C. (2025). Habilidades colaborativas no mercado de ti: Uma investigação sobre requisitos de soft skills. In Anais do XX Simpósio Brasileiro de Sistemas Colaborativos, pages 139–150, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
Dutra, E., Cerdeiral, C., Lima, P., Escalfoni, R., Diirr, B., and Santos, G. (2023). Using an instrument to assess trust, knowledge, learning, and motivation of agile teams. iSys-Brazilian Journal of Information Systems, 16(1):7–1.
Figueiredo, J. G. (2025). Metodologias ágeis no desenvolvimento de software para universidade digital. RICA-KIANDA: REVISTA DE INOVAÇÃO E INVESTIGAÇÃO CIENTÍFICA DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LUANDA, 1(01):228–242.
Galster, M., Mitrovic, A., Malinen, S., Holland, J., and Peiris, P. (2023). Soft skills required from software professionals in new zealand. Inf. Softw. Technol., 160:107232.
González-Morales, D., de Antonio, L. M. M., and García, J. L. R. (2011). Teaching “soft” skills in software engineering. 2011 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), pages 630–637.
Kadenic, M. D., de Jesus Pacheco, D. A., Koumaditis, K., Tjørnehøj, G., and Tambo, T. (2023). Investigating the role of product owner in scrum teams: Differentiation between organisational and individual impacts and opportunities. Journal of Systems and Software, 206:111841.
Lima, I. and Bezerra, C. (2026). Soft skills in agile culture: An analysis of literature, job vacancies, and survey evidence on the product owner in the information systems industry. Simpósio Brasileiro de Sistemas de Informação (SBSI), pages 204–211.
Malinen, S., Galster, M., Mitrovic, A., Iyer, S., Peiris, P., and Clarke, A. (2025). Soft skills in software engineering: Insights from the trenches. 2025 IEEE/ACM 47th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Practice (ICSE-SEIP), pages 296–306.
Marinho, M., Bastos, T. A., and Sampaio, S. (2021). Soft skills for newborn software engineers in agile teams. International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, 14:27.
Matturro, G., Cordovés, F., and Solari, M. (2018). Role of product owner from the practitioner’s perspective. an exploratory study. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Software Engineering Research and Practice (SERP), pages 113–118. The Steering Committee of The World Congress in Computer Science, Computer . . . .
Matturro, G., Fontán, C., and Raschetti, F. (2015). Soft skills in scrum teams. a survey of the most valued to have by product owners and scrum masters. In SEKE, pages 42–45.
Medvid, M., Medvid, Y. I., Mudra, S., Storoška, M., and Havryshchuk, M. (2024). Pedagogical conditions for soft skills development in future officers: evidence from the national guard of ukraine during wartime. Educational Dimension.
Poláková, M., Suleimanová, J. H., Madzík, P., Copuš, L., Molnárová, I., and Polednová, J. (2023). Soft skills and their importance in the labour market under the conditions of industry 5.0. Heliyon, 9.
Reis Lima, A. P. d. and Amaral, D. C. (2022). O que fazer quando não há product owner? um estudo sobre a ausência desse papel. Revista de Gestão e Projetos, 13(2):38–65.
Silva Farias, R., Ahmed, I., and De Almeida, E. S. (2025). What Makes a Great Software Quality Assurance Engineer? IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 51(4):1153–1172. Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Toikkanen, T., Hyrynsalmi, S., and Paasivaara, M. (2023). How does the role of a product owner relate to the role of a software product manager? In ICSPM 2023: International Conference on Software Product Management. Lecture Notes in Informatics. Gesellschaft für Informatik eV.
Unger-Windeler, C., Klünder, J. A.-C., Reuscher, T., and Schneider, K. (2021). Are product owners communicators? a multi-method research approach to provide a more comprehensive picture of product owners in practice. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process, 33(1):e2311.
Valle, R. A., Souza, A. C. C., and Valle, P. H. D. (2025). Aligning soft skills in requirements engineering between academia and industry: A pilot study. In Workshop sobre Aspectos Sociais, Humanos e Econômicos de Software (WASHES), pages 166–177. SBC.
Wazlawick, P., Wazlawick, R. S., and Cassol, L. A. (2024). Competências humanas em ontologia para o futuro:: O desenvolvimento de uma revisão sistemática de literatura em tecnologia da informação. In VI Congresso Internacional de Ontopsicologia e Desenvolvimento Humano, pages 6–22.
Wohlin, C., Runeson, P., Höst, M., Ohlsson, M. C., Regnell, B., Wesslén, A., et al. (2012). Experimentation in software engineering, volume 236. Springer.
Bodrick, M. M., Almutairi, M. B., Aljuffali, L. A., Obaid, A. A., Albisher, A. K., Alsuhaim, M. I., Alhabib, I. M., and Alqarni, H. M. (2025). Amplifying learning development in human capability advancement through soft and hard skills. Journal of Learning and Development Studies.
Börner, K., Scrivner, O., Gallant, M., na Ma, S., Liu, X., Chewning, K., Wu, L., and Evans, J. A. (2018). Skill discrepancies between research, education, and jobs reveal the critical need to supply soft skills for the data economy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115:12630 – 12637.
Cavalcante, V., Costa, C., and Soares, D. (2024). Beyond code: the development of soft skills through training in software engineering. In Anais do XXXVIII Simpósio Brasileiro de Engenharia de Software, pages 521–531, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
Coelho, M., Araújo, A., Freire, S., and Paixao, M. (2024). Um estudo comparativo entre a visão de líderes e liderados sobre a importância de soft skills em desenvolvimento de software. In Anais do IX Workshop sobre Aspectos Sociais, Humanos e Econômicos de Software, pages 130–140, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
Diniz, W., Gadelha, B., Steinmacher, I., and França, C. (2025). Habilidades colaborativas no mercado de ti: Uma investigação sobre requisitos de soft skills. In Anais do XX Simpósio Brasileiro de Sistemas Colaborativos, pages 139–150, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
Dutra, E., Cerdeiral, C., Lima, P., Escalfoni, R., Diirr, B., and Santos, G. (2023). Using an instrument to assess trust, knowledge, learning, and motivation of agile teams. iSys-Brazilian Journal of Information Systems, 16(1):7–1.
Figueiredo, J. G. (2025). Metodologias ágeis no desenvolvimento de software para universidade digital. RICA-KIANDA: REVISTA DE INOVAÇÃO E INVESTIGAÇÃO CIENTÍFICA DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LUANDA, 1(01):228–242.
Galster, M., Mitrovic, A., Malinen, S., Holland, J., and Peiris, P. (2023). Soft skills required from software professionals in new zealand. Inf. Softw. Technol., 160:107232.
González-Morales, D., de Antonio, L. M. M., and García, J. L. R. (2011). Teaching “soft” skills in software engineering. 2011 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), pages 630–637.
Kadenic, M. D., de Jesus Pacheco, D. A., Koumaditis, K., Tjørnehøj, G., and Tambo, T. (2023). Investigating the role of product owner in scrum teams: Differentiation between organisational and individual impacts and opportunities. Journal of Systems and Software, 206:111841.
Lima, I. and Bezerra, C. (2026). Soft skills in agile culture: An analysis of literature, job vacancies, and survey evidence on the product owner in the information systems industry. Simpósio Brasileiro de Sistemas de Informação (SBSI), pages 204–211.
Malinen, S., Galster, M., Mitrovic, A., Iyer, S., Peiris, P., and Clarke, A. (2025). Soft skills in software engineering: Insights from the trenches. 2025 IEEE/ACM 47th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Practice (ICSE-SEIP), pages 296–306.
Marinho, M., Bastos, T. A., and Sampaio, S. (2021). Soft skills for newborn software engineers in agile teams. International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, 14:27.
Matturro, G., Cordovés, F., and Solari, M. (2018). Role of product owner from the practitioner’s perspective. an exploratory study. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Software Engineering Research and Practice (SERP), pages 113–118. The Steering Committee of The World Congress in Computer Science, Computer . . . .
Matturro, G., Fontán, C., and Raschetti, F. (2015). Soft skills in scrum teams. a survey of the most valued to have by product owners and scrum masters. In SEKE, pages 42–45.
Medvid, M., Medvid, Y. I., Mudra, S., Storoška, M., and Havryshchuk, M. (2024). Pedagogical conditions for soft skills development in future officers: evidence from the national guard of ukraine during wartime. Educational Dimension.
Poláková, M., Suleimanová, J. H., Madzík, P., Copuš, L., Molnárová, I., and Polednová, J. (2023). Soft skills and their importance in the labour market under the conditions of industry 5.0. Heliyon, 9.
Reis Lima, A. P. d. and Amaral, D. C. (2022). O que fazer quando não há product owner? um estudo sobre a ausência desse papel. Revista de Gestão e Projetos, 13(2):38–65.
Silva Farias, R., Ahmed, I., and De Almeida, E. S. (2025). What Makes a Great Software Quality Assurance Engineer? IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 51(4):1153–1172. Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Toikkanen, T., Hyrynsalmi, S., and Paasivaara, M. (2023). How does the role of a product owner relate to the role of a software product manager? In ICSPM 2023: International Conference on Software Product Management. Lecture Notes in Informatics. Gesellschaft für Informatik eV.
Unger-Windeler, C., Klünder, J. A.-C., Reuscher, T., and Schneider, K. (2021). Are product owners communicators? a multi-method research approach to provide a more comprehensive picture of product owners in practice. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process, 33(1):e2311.
Valle, R. A., Souza, A. C. C., and Valle, P. H. D. (2025). Aligning soft skills in requirements engineering between academia and industry: A pilot study. In Workshop sobre Aspectos Sociais, Humanos e Econômicos de Software (WASHES), pages 166–177. SBC.
Wazlawick, P., Wazlawick, R. S., and Cassol, L. A. (2024). Competências humanas em ontologia para o futuro:: O desenvolvimento de uma revisão sistemática de literatura em tecnologia da informação. In VI Congresso Internacional de Ontopsicologia e Desenvolvimento Humano, pages 6–22.
Wohlin, C., Runeson, P., Höst, M., Ohlsson, M. C., Regnell, B., Wesslén, A., et al. (2012). Experimentation in software engineering, volume 236. Springer.
Publicado
19/07/2026
Como Citar
LIMA, Israely; BEZERRA, Carla.
What Does the Brazilian Industry Expect from Product Owners? An Analysis of Soft Skills in Job Postings. In: WORKSHOP SOBRE ASPECTOS SOCIAIS, HUMANOS E ECONÔMICOS DE SOFTWARE (WASHES), 11. , 2026, Gramado/RS.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
.
p. 176-187.
ISSN 2763-874X.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/washes.2026.22124.
