Improving technical to business communication
Communication skill articles are usually written for business people. That’s why the communication-related articles are usually in the business section of websites. I want to change that.
This website provides an alternative approach, which is why you’ll find a lot of content written from a technical perspective. The articles for technical audiences include technical examples, situations technical teams commonly experience, and advice that focuses on helping technical professionals communicate with their business stakeholders.
The subjects in this section use the fundamental communication skills you need for clear communication. To get the most out of this section you need to know and use the fundamental communication skills.
Many IT departments deliver their work in releases. These are also called iterations, or cycles. Yes, some companies have a ‘continuous release’ capability. But most companies in the world still operate with periodic releases....
How often do IT teams accept impossible deadlines? Too often. This is bad for the IT team because it increases workload and stress. It is also bad for the business stakeholders who end up missing their delivery dates.
A typical...
Business stakeholders don’t like to be told that an IT deliverable is delayed. But we live in a world where delays happen. If you work in IT, and if you want to have less frustrated business stakeholders, then you need to know how to...
Clear communication between teams at work is challenging, especially when teams speak different languages. I’m not talking about English vs French, although that can be a problem. I’m talking about the different job-specific words,...
Acronyms, TLAs, abbreviations, initialisms. Love them or hate them, our work communication is full of them and we should stop using acronyms.
People and organizations love acronyms. From a simple request to reply ASAP, to descriptions...
Hate is a strong word to use. ‘Often dislike’ may be a better description. Whatever words we use, there is no doubt business stakeholders don’t love talking to IT teams.
It will come as no surprise to many of you to hear that there is...
More and more technical/IT jobs involve regular communication with business stakeholders. Despite this, many companies don't give technical teams the training they need to become good communicators. What do you think? Are you giving...
Saying that IT programmers struggle to communicate is like saying the grass is green. Everybody knows it. I try to avoid stereotypes but in this case, the stereotype exists for a reason. What I don’t understand is why isn’t more done...