Yesterday I attended a customer communications workshop conducted
by Barry Katz . The main focus
was on proper communication with clients, but since the audience included
personnel with different roles in the same company and some of our customers are
employed in the company itself, our discussions tended to gravitate towards
intracompany communication.
Throughout the workshop, the issue of a project management
triangle was raised over and over again - the need to communicate and find a
balance among the three different forces and various stakeholders in a particular
project.
We all know the famous project management triangle, where each
vertex represents Scope, Time and Cost, with Quality in the middle. Each stakeholder
pulls the vertex in his/her direction, while the QA team is smack in the
middle, between the development, management and customer. During the workshop,
we learned how to facilitate proper communication among the different branches.
Must it always be a win-lose situation? How do you parallel your
expectations with those of the other side, and how do you enable each side to feel
it got the most out of the situation (we may call this a win-win, but sometimes
the idea is simply to make sure no one loses).
There is no magic to communication. It’s all about the way
you think, which leads to the way you view a situation, feel about it, and how
you act based on those thoughts and feelings. And after you act, there is the inevitable
assessment of the results of your actions.
The key is to begin thinking like a winner, with self-respect
and confidence, as well as respect and empathy for the other side.
In light of the above, here is a brief list of tips that may
help create a more pleasant communication environment:
· The obvious needs to be stated - Everyone knows quality
is important, but does everyone know what the impact of an action will be on
the quality of the product? Make sure that the issues that are obvious to you
are stated and made clear to all stakeholders.
· Propose options that let everyone feel in control - Explain
the different options available for action and the results of each action. Help
the other side feel it too has control over the situation without detracting
from your own control. For example, as part of a QA team, you can provide
several options for periods of testing and the expected result of each period.
A shorter period of testing would have lower coverage with a bigger risk, while
a longer period of testing would have a higher coverage with a lower risk. Using
this example, you may want to explain Bach’s “good enough” principle and decide together with the development team and management how your company
defines “good enough”.
· Motivate people through free will - Remember, we are all on
the same side and we all want our product to be top quality. In an environment
where we need to work together, asking someone to do something politely (even
if it’s on their task list) is always better than ordering them to do it.
· Motivate people through personal relationships - Try using
more personal communication. As part of a QA team, it would be a good idea to
maintain a good relationship with the development team, for example, and show
the more human side of you when sharing small talk and coffee. During these
friendly moments, you can also ask (not demand from) the developer if he/she
would be willing to take a look at a bug you discovered. You will probably be pleasantly
surprised at his/her willingness to help.
· Maintain a quiet environment - Try lowering the decibels
when it comes to bugs. Give the developer the peace of mind he/she needs when
tackling a problem that needs to be solved.
Have any other good tips or comments about how to better communicate
with development, management and customers? Please feel free to share them with
us!
