Communication Patterns: A Guide for Developers and Architects (2nd Early Release)

Description

Having a great idea or design is not enough to make your software project succeed. If you want stakeholders to buy into your design and teams to collaborate and contribute to the vision, you also need to communicate effectively. In this practical book, author Jacqui Read shows you how to successfully present your architecture and get stakeholders to jump on board. Misunderstanding and lack of buy-in leads to increasing costs, unmet requirements, and an architecture that is not what you intended. Through constructive examples and patterns, this book shows you how to create documentation and diagrams that actually get the message across to the different audiences you'll face. This book shows you how to: Design diagrams and documentation appropriate to your expected audience, intended message, and project stage Create documentation and diagrams that are accessible to those with varying roles, needs, or disabilities Master written, verbal, and nonverbal communication to succeed in technical settings Apply the communication patterns presented in this book in real-world projects and software designs Communicate and collaborate with distributed teams to successfully design and document software and technical projects I. Visual Communication 1. Communication Essentials Know Your Audience Style Communicates Mixing Levels of Abstraction 2. Clarify the Clutter Colour Overload Boxes in boxes in boxes Ambiguous Connections Balance Text 3. Accessibility Relying on Colour to Communicate Include a Legend Appropriate Labels 4. Narrative Match Diagram Flow to Expectations The Big Picture Comes First Clear Relationships 5. Notation Using Icons to Convey Meaning Using UML for UML’s Sake Mixing Behaviour and Structure Going Against Expectations 6. Composition Illegible Diagrams Representational Consistency Misleading Composition Create a Visual Balance II. Multi-Modal Communication 7. Written Communication Simple Language Acronym Hell Structuring Your Writing 8. Verbal and Non-Verbal Encoding Messages Decoding Messages Persuasion 9. The Rhetoric Triangle Ethos Establish Your Credentials Use Trustworthy Sources Transparency Demonstrate Your Knowledge Pathos Speak from the heart Use vivid language & strong imagery Tell a story Logos Use data and facts Make logical connections Use reasoning and argumentation III. Communicating Knowledge 10. Knowledge Management Principles Products over Projects Abstractions over Text Perspective-Driven 11. Knowledge and People Getting Feedback Early & Often Share the load Just-in-time Architecture 12. Effective Practices Using Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) Effective Architecture Characteristics All Documentation as Code Technical Documentation Other Documentation Automatically Generated Documentation IV. Communicating Remotely 13. Remote Time Synchronise Time Working Patterns Energy & Productivity 14. Remote Principles Meetings to Synch Async to Think Remote-First 15. Remote Channels Symmetrical Email Online Presentations Remote Tools & Governance About the Author