HEY, DOES ANYONE SPEAK IT?

Communication failures in #SaaS developments are very common.

They lead to all sorts of fun like –

• Confusion, chaos and complication

• High stress levels

• Projects overrun

Hundreds of thousands of dollars down the gurgler, and hair sometimes literally pulled out.

They happen because you’re all talking gibberish.

Well, you’re not, it’s just the other guys think you are, because domain experts and software teams come from different worlds and speak their own languages.

And then to make it harder, we introduce additional communication layers and complexity.

Project managers do the talking so developers never speak to the client.

They could be offshore, so there’s no common first language.

We use the written word rather than talking, so subtlety and nuance are lost.

Requests are often taken literally, the developers full of the best intentions, but following instructions precisely.

Often they’re “Chinese whispers”, derived from 3 layers of communication across international, language, cultural and time boundaries.

So empathy is key, and it’s critical that both parties take the time to understand each other.

And if you’re not from the IT world, that can be very hard.

So let me know if you need help.

I am after all, a translator of IT gibberish.

#MrSaaSSays