Communication Patterns

Communication Patterns

by Jacqui Read
Released October 2023
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781098140540

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Book 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

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Table of contents

  1. Preface
    1. Why I Wrote This Book
    2. Who Should Read This Book
    3. How to Read This Book
    4. Images and Color
    5. Software Tools
    6. Polyglot Media
    7. Conventions Used in This Book
    8. Using Code Examples
    9. O’Reilly Online Learning
    10. How to Contact Us
    11. Acknowledgments
  2. I. Visual Communication
  3. 1. Communication Essentials
    1. Know Your Audience
    2. Mixing Levels of Abstraction
    3. Representational Consistency
    4. Summary
  4. 2. Clarify the Clutter
    1. Color Overload
    2. Boxes in Boxes in Boxes
    3. Relationship Spiderweb
    4. Balance Text
    5. Summary
  5. 3. Accessibility
    1. Relying on Color to Communicate
    2. Include a Legend
    3. Appropriate Labels
    4. Summary
  6. 4. Narrative
    1. The Big Picture Comes First
    2. Match Diagram Flow to Expectations
    3. Clear Relationships
    4. Summary
  7. 5. Notation
    1. Using Icons to Convey Meaning
    2. Using UML for UML’s Sake
    3. Mixing Behavior and Structure
    4. Going Against Expectations
    5. Summary
  8. 6. Composition
    1. Illegible Diagrams
    2. Style Communicates
    3. Misleading Composition
    4. Create a Visual Balance
    5. Summary
  9. II. Multimodal Communication
  10. 7. Written Communication
    1. Simple Language
    2. Acronym Hell
    3. Structured Writing
    4. Syntax of Technical Writing
      1. Strong Verbs
      2. Short Sentences
      3. Precise Paragraphs
      4. Consistent Vocabulary
      5. Audience Empathy
    5. Summary
  11. 8. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
    1. Encoding Messages
      1. Using the Acceptance Prophecy
      2. Giving Your Full Attention
      3. Using Body Language and Gestures
    2. Decoding Messages
      1. Battling Bias
      2. Being Present
      3. Awareness of Cultural Differences
    3. Influence and Persuasion
    4. Summary
  12. 9. The Rhetoric Triangle
    1. Ethos
      1. Establish Your Credentials
      2. Use Trustworthy Sources
      3. Be Transparent
      4. Demonstrate Your Knowledge
    2. Pathos
      1. Tell a Story
      2. Speak from the Heart
      3. Use Vivid Language and Strong Imagery
    3. Logos
      1. Use Data and Facts
      2. Make Logical Connections
      3. Use Reasoning and Argumentation
    4. Summary
  13. III. Communicating Knowledge
  14. 10. Knowledge Management Principles
    1. Products over Projects
      1. Project Mindset
      2. Product Mindset
    2. Abstractions over Text
      1. Lists
      2. Tables
      3. Visual Abstractions
      4. Word Clouds
      5. Charts, Graphs, and Diagrams
      6. Other Abstractions
    3. Perspective-Driven Documentation
      1. DRY Perspectives
      2. Fractal Perspectives
      3. Implementing Perspectives
    4. Summary
  15. 11. Knowledge and People
    1. Get Feedback Early and Often
    2. Share the Load
      1. Nonproprietary Formats
      2. Accessibility
      3. Collaboration
      4. Roles and Responsibilities
      5. Further Techniques
    3. Just-in-Time Architecture
    4. Summary
  16. 12. Effective Practices
    1. ADRs
      1. ADR Structure
      2. ADR Content
      3. ADR Storage
      4. ADR Culture
    2. Architecture Characteristics
    3. All Documentation as Code
      1. Technical Documentation
      2. Automatically Generated Documentation
      3. Other Documentation
    4. Summary
  17. IV. Communicating Remotely
  18. 13. Remote Time
    1. Synchronize Time
      1. Time Zone
      2. Empathy and Compromise
      3. Split Shifts
    2. Respect Working Patterns
      1. Communicate Availability
      2. Defend Part-Time Hours
      3. Plan for Holidays
      4. Account for Geography and Culture
      5. Recognize Real Working Capacity
    3. Improve Energy and Productivity
      1. Control Notifications
      2. Automate Tasks
      3. Work with Others’ Rhythms
      4. Schedule for Energy
    4. Summary
  19. 14. Remote Principles
    1. Meetings to Sync
      1. Synchronous Versus Asynchronous
      2. Enhance Meetings
    2. Async to Think
      1. Async Advantages
      2. Async Obstacles
      3. Direction Matters
      4. Async Methods
      5. Enhance Async
    3. Remote-First Working
      1. Remote-First Versus Remote-Friendly
      2. Remote-First Benefits
      3. Evolving to Remote-First
    4. Summary
  20. 15. Remote Channels
    1. Symmetrical Email
      1. Email Reasons
      2. Email Expectations
      3. Email Clarity
      4. Email Tips
    2. Online Presentations
      1. Audience Engagement
      2. Presentation Content
      3. Screen Shares
    3. Remote Tools and Governance
      1. Selection Techniques
      2. Remote Tools
      3. Data Proliferation
      4. Security
      5. Tool Efficiency
      6. Tool Governance
    4. Summary
  21. Epilogue
  22. A. ADR Templates
    1. ADR Structure
      1. Identifier and Title: A Statement of the Decision Made
    2. ADR Options
  23. Index
  24. About the Author

Product information

  • Title: Communication Patterns
  • Author(s): Jacqui Read
  • Release date: October 2023
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781098140540