Communication Practices
Communication Practices refer to the structured methods and tools used to facilitate clear, efficient, and effective communication within and between teams, especially in the context of enabling teams to be self-sufficient.
Purpose
The purpose of robust communication practices is to enhance understanding, collaboration, and alignment across teams, thereby enabling them to operate autonomously while remaining aligned with organisational objectives.
- Improves clarity and alignment on project goals and expectations.
- Facilitates faster decision-making and problem resolution.
- Enhances team autonomy and self-sufficiency.
- Promotes a culture of transparency and trust.
Context
Industry Context
Product development is complex and requires the collaborative effort of multiple teams each responsible for different parts of the product. The challenge is that synchronous collaboration and dependencies between teams slow down delivery.
ZeroBlockers Context
Stream Teams are assigned completely autonomous value streams. However, it is not possible to be completely independent - the real world is messier than our models. There are shared data entities that cross the boundaries of value streams such as Users and Products. While the teams are autonomous, they still need to share data across team boundaries.
In addition, while every effort is made to ensure that teams are independent, at times it will be required to build features that span multiple teams.
Methods
| Practice | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Defined Interaction Modes | Establishing clear guidelines for how teams should interact with each other. |
|
| Shared Communication Channels | Establishing shared communication channels for cross-team communication. |
|
| Written Communication | Encouraging the use of written communication to ensure clarity and transparency. |
|
Anti-patterns
- Overcollaboration: Excessive collaboration between teams reduces productivity and highlights a problem with team boundaries.
- Vague Communication: Lack of clarity in communication leads to misunderstandings and delays in decision-making.
Case Studies
Visual Storytelling to Elevate Product Vision Communication
How Meta leveraged visual storytelling to enhance communication and alignment around its product vision.
Meta
Bridging Communication Gaps in Teams
How EverQuote improved team efficiency and project success by addressing communication gaps.
EverQuote
