Living in the Tech Avalanche Generation

I had the pleasure of recently listening to one of the most entertaining podcasts I have heard in a while where Scott Bellware was the guest in question. Scott is a captivating speaker and always prompts you to challenge your own beliefs and ideas as a developer. The podcast was intended to be centred around a discussion on BDD however Scott points out that he practices “Context Specification” and that it differs somewhat to BDD.

Something that has stayed with me in the weeks passed since listening the to discussion, is Scott’s description of developers as ‘high functioning autistics’. The context in which Scott makes the observation is one where he expresses a desire for developers to speak more fluently in the language of the business and desist in articulating implementation details or information of no business value. I’m sure that most people will find that idea logical and reasonable (as I do) however I feel that it’s worth throwing some attention onto the business and how it communicates in the reverse direction.

Any relationships success relies on the mutual respect and determination of all parties to participate in functioning cohesively to achieve a common goal. Yes developers should aim to achieve communicating more effectively with the business but it should be said that business people must take an equal position of responsibility for the success of communication between the parties. I’m pretty sure that most developers have worked in environments with little structure or discipline, where ad-hoc is the methodology of the day and expectations are generally unreasonable. I am sorry to say that I have seen developers purposefully communicate in an abstract way with business people, in an attempt to shield themselves from the kind of environment I just described.

I find it curious that we even speak of ‘developers’ and the ‘business’ as separate entities almost as though they exist in different dimensions; surely we developers work for the very same business as do those in HR, Sales or Warehousing? By definition we must also be considered part of the business. Seriously though, I understand the distinction when we speak about ‘software’ and the ‘business’ in terms that express a notion of separation, but I guess I am starting to think that it’s a consequence of the inadequacy of language that helps in promoting exactly some of the problems that Scott wants to see eradicated.

I think it’s worth making the observation that whilst developers should take responsibility for themselves in communicating more effectively across the organisation they serve, it’s incumbent on all parties to create environments designed for successful communication that travels in all directions. There have been plenty of occasions where I have seen ‘business people’ behave in a fashion that demonstrated a lack of respect and understanding of those sitting on the IT side of the fence. Respect is a two way street.