communications

Articles

How to Manage the Hurly-Burly Hubbub of Change

Giving yourself, and your team, the necessary time to adapt to and move on from change is the healthiest way to make sure that everyone is back on the same page in a timely manner. Learn how to avoid prolonging the necessary time to "heal" by minimizing turbulence.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten
Simulation Games: A Way to Improve Communication in the Team

One of the hardest daily tasks developers, QA, ScrumMasters, and product owners encounter is effective communication with others. Sound implausible? According to many articles, research, and personal observations, the main cause of project failure is not technology or hardware, but inefficient communication stemming from lack of effective communication between team members, incomplete business analysis, imprecise requirements, and vaguely formulated business objectives.

Monika Konieczny's picture Monika Konieczny
How to Make People Feel (Un)Welcome

The age-old expression "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" is still true to this day. So often the way we greet people, or fail to greet them, sets an irreversible path of leaving others feel completely unwelcome, even if that wasn't the intention.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten
Effective Leadership Communication

In most workplaces, there’s an institutional hierarchy that may influence how we react in situations that require us to step up. Navigating effective communication means knowing when we should listen quietly to leaders and when we should challenge or question.

Payson Hall's picture Payson Hall
Creating Crucial Test Conversations

Many test leaders believe that development, business, and management don't understand, support, or properly value our contributions. You know what-these test leaders are probably right! So, why do they feel that way? Bob Galen believes it’s our inability and ineffectiveness in communicating-selling-ourselves, our abilities, our contributions, and our value to the organization. As testers, we believe that the work speaks for itself. Wrong! We must work harder to create the crucial conversations that communicate our value and impact. Bob shares specific techniques for holding context-based conversations, producing informative status reports, conducting attention-getting quality assessments, and delivering solid defect reports. Learn how to improve your communication skills so that key partners understand your role, value, and contributions.

Bob Galen, iContact
Let's Talk Agile

Agile development employs more oral communication, feedback, and interaction than traditional development. These communication tools can help ease the transition into the more interactive agile team relationship.

Ken Pugh's picture Ken Pugh
The Whorfian Hypothesis

Benjamin Whorf hypothesized that the language we speak constrains the thoughts we can have. Learn how a well-developed organizational vocabulary can help increase the quality of your products.

Lee Copeland's picture Lee Copeland
Is the Pope a Bachelor?—Why Examples are Most Important

We like to believe that the categories we assign to the world are real and the definitions we use draw clear boundaries, but how clear are they really? Brian Marick writes about the vital nature of examples, both in the realm of software development and in the larger picture of life.

Brian Marick
Want Better Software? Just Ask

An effective project customer can turn a good product into a great one. But he's got to know how. Mike Cohn gives project customers seven simple rules for communicating product goals effectively to development.

Mike Cohn's picture Mike Cohn
Remote Control

Between outsourcing and flextime, virtual development teams are fast becoming the rule rather than the exception. But can team members work together when they're so far apart? Read two stories of how real-life programmers are making it work.

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