Any advice on how to communicate with developers on building new features?

🤔 I realise what developers need & want to know vs what non-technical people (like me) want to say can be so different. I'm trying to learn how to improve our team's communication at pre-development stages. 🙌🏻 Any advice from the PH community on the Do's and Don'ts when communicating with developers, particularly on building new features?

Couple of tips: * Clear communication about what you want. Eg sketches/outlines/lightweight specs can save a load of back-and-forth later by aligning both parties' expectations * Explain "Why" as well as "What" to involve them a little in the design process and so they can make mini-executive decisions if necessary

I think the initial thing that'll make you have a common ground with engineers is to involve them with conversations about the business. It's a lot easier to have a mutual understanding of something when both sides have a perspective of the field. Imagine if Spotify made its software with engineers who never listened to music. It would be incredibly challenging, right? It's also very helpful when you work with engineers who are invested with the problem you're trying to solve as they might come up with solutions on their own. What I mean by conversations about the business? Grooming and sprint kick off sessions, when you set goals to achieve such and such thing and organize what and how you'll execute. Now to how to communicate: • Examples, UI sketches & feedback: Show similar solutions to what you'd like to achieve. An alternative way is to show them feedback from user testing sessions. "When X user tried this they had Y thing in mind. Can we work on improving this? Do we need to implement a new feature?" It's an effective way because it uses something tangible as a reference point: either a 3rd party solution or your own thing. • User stories: Personally I believe this is the most effective and engineer friendly way to communicate the demand for a new feature. "As a user, I would like to [action] when I [demand] so that [outcome]." It's particularly useful when you have trust in your engineers that they'll be able to deliver for the user demand the way they consider best. Pro tip: be as concise with your engineer teammates as you can. The thing engineers generally hate the most is when they feel like they're time is being wasted. What comes after is when they feel like they ship new features to no one, so emphasize the demand they should live up to from a user's point of view.

Yeah, that's true! I run a SaaS development company, I can suggest a few tips: Dos: - Be specific: Don't just say "I want a new feature." Instead, be specific about what you want the feature to do. What are the desired inputs and outputs? What are the constraints? - Be realistic: Don't expect developers to be able to build a new feature overnight. Be realistic about the time and resources that it will take. - Be open to feedback: Developers may have suggestions for how to improve your idea. Be open to their feedback and be willing to make changes. - Be patient: Building new features takes time. Be patient with the developers and don't expect them to be able to deliver the finished product overnight. Don'ts: - Don't be afraid to ask questions: If you don't understand something, don't be afraid to ask the developers questions. They're there to help you, and they'll appreciate your curiosity. - Don't micromanage: Developers need to be able to do their job without being micromanaged. Give them the freedom to do what they need to do to build the best possible feature. - Don't be afraid to change your mind: Sometimes, you may change your mind about what you want the feature to do. That's okay. Just be sure to communicate the changes to the developers as soon as possible. - Don't be afraid to compromise: Sometimes, you and the developers may not agree on the best way to build the feature. That's okay. Be willing to compromise to reach a solution that works for everyone. Hope that helps!

Provide detailed specifications for the new feature, including functionality, user interactions, and desired outcomes. Clear documentation helps developers understand the scope and requirements accurately. Also, Using visual aids like wireframes, mockups, or flowcharts to visually illustrate how the feature should look and function.