How to talk with a software developer? A guide for non-technical people

A visit to a programmer’s tech-fortress can be a traumatic experience for many. These gloomy professionals staring at screens can be intimidating, and the answers they give can usually be compared to a mysterious code given to earthlings by an alien civilization. So is there any hope for the programming layman? Is he forever doomed to this cruel predicament?

Well, not necessarily. As the old saying goes, the main thing is to know how to get along.

Well, but how? Let’s figure it out together. First of all, you must remember that the programmer is not some frightening, supernatural entity, but a flesh-and-blood human being. If you take off that nerd mask, he may turn out to be a cool person. Just remember to stick to four absolutely basic rules. Here they are:

1. Be prepared

You can’t just walk into the developers’ office off the street and be unarmed. The basis is the proper preparation. Of course you don’t have to enroll in an intensive programming course, or dig through thousands of pages of specialized literature – it’s enough to get some basic knowledge in this area. Without making at least a superficial acquaintance with the programming terminology, you will be like a representative of the human species trying to get along with an inhabitant of an alien planet. It will become, to put it mildly, complicated.

2. Don’t be afraid

Do you have a problem? Are you managing a project that requires you to work closely with your development team, so you need to pay them a visit from time to time? Do so with your forehead held high. Remember that DEV is not DEUS, so once you’ve learned the basic terms from the article linked above, go ahead and have a meeting with purpose – you’ll definitely get along. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, accept possible doubts. Listen carefully and take notes – this will allow you to gather all the data you need to improve further cooperation with developers.

3. Don’t be tiresome

It’s understandable that your project is important to you, so you’re frantically concerned about its success. However, remember that everyone has their own job and many different tasks to perform. Respect the time and nerves of the people you have to work with. Don’t pester the programmers with constant questions about the progress of their work, don’t come to them without solid preparation, don’t raise their blood pressure with unproductive visits. They know that your project is important, and their schedule is planned in such a way to provide you with a solution on time. All you need to do at the beginning of your partnership is to carefully lay out your goals, discuss your concerns, and set a realistic timeframe. Empathy, dear non-programmer – it always works.

4. Be precise

You know very well that on paper, in a conversation or in an email, everything may look simple and logical. Meanwhile, it usually turns out that your 2+2=4 from the programmer’s point of view is too much of a generalisation for it to work. Remember that the professional will require from you very precise information about the functioning of a particular solution. For this purpose it is worth organizing an event storming beforehand with all the people involved in the creation of the application. Thanks to such a meeting you will be able to collect as much data as possible, which will facilitate the work of programmers and give you more confidence that you will receive a satisfactory product. So remember to take generalities apart and think if what is simple for you is really so in terms of the developer’s thought process.

These four rules of thumb should help you overcome the initial resistance that accompanies dealing with developers or improve your existing partnership with them. Want to know more? Go ahead, ask!