TooMuchCommunication

More Communication of Information is used than is necessary

Description

Communication of Information costs more than necessary, because more Communication of Information is used than is necessary. We consider both too much Communications needed, and expensive means of Communications used. See also CostOfCommunication and TooCostlyCommunication.

Discussion

In extreme cases, information used in software development can pass from Customer to Business Analyst, Requirements Analyst, OO Analyst, Systems Architect, OO Designer and Coder. Six or more handovers of information in one development chain may be unusual, but four or five are common. Remember also that there will be branches in the chain, with other handovers of information progressing in parallel. Where these handovers of information are expensive, as is often the case, it is worthwhile considering reduction in the number of handovers that would be required.

Prevention, Amelioration, Cure

Traditional

Reduce the number of times information is passed between roles by having FewRoles. When trimming roles, consider the advice of the ProducerRoles pattern. Employ a GateKeeper to concentrate and filter the communication from outside the team. Do not pass development information between roles via a Manager or Team Leader; see WorkFlowsInward.

Modern

Rather than passing information on between individuals performing different roles, have a single person responsible for a piece of functionality and performing all roles in respect of this functionality, as in the pattern DeployAlongTheGrain, made easier when employing GeneralizingSpecialist people. See also the CostOfCommunication modern approaches.