Communication habits for engineers

Software development experience doesn’t allow you to listen and learn from domain experts. Communication does.

Years of experience developing software don’t translate into working software.

Working software is only applicable when it provides value to users.

Rather than writing something that works is more important to focus on writing the right thing.

Communication is essential to keep everybody aligns. An easy way to do this is by leaving a micro-standup in tickets and PRs.

Weekly reports also enable an open communication environment for a team.

Micro-standup

The template that I often use is the following:

Description of what was accomplished Following Action: What I am planning to do next

These two pieces of information help me to focus while at the same allowing other teams member to jump in if I am getting off track.

Weekly Report

A group of tickets, for the most part, conforms to a project.

To merge everything that was done for a particular week, the template that I use is the following:

Project name: emoji status signaling progress, blockers, or warnings. I use traffic lights

Bullet point of every accomplishment for the particular ticket

Next Action:

Bullet point of every following Action for the project

Blockers:

Bullet point of potential blockers for next week

Conclusion

Accountability and trust are built due to consistent behavior. Communication is one of the essential skills to develop and nurture for any engineer.

Build trust through consistent behavior and habits.

The most important habit that every team should embrace is Communication.