Async communication

Communication is the bottleneck of IT

Natural communication = synchronous

  • meetings
  • video calls
  • face to face
  • inquiring
  • tribal knowledge

Synchronous communication doesn't work

  • it can work in the short run
  • it won't work in the long run
    • synchronization takes time
    • synchronization brings challenges
    • it's volatile
    • it's unfair
    • doesn't scale

Meetings are rubbish

  • high effort, little profit
  • what matters is the outcome
    • changes in documents
    • action points

Takeaway 1

Let's not communicate by meetings

Async-first

  • Detach sending from receiving
  • Avoid inquiring...
  • ...by making it visible

Async-first

  • communication by visibility
  • questions as indicator
    • no questions = good communication

Async-first

  • written
  • visible (public)
  • updatable
  • push information
  • in proper place
  • subscribable places
  • no communication ping-pong

Takeaway 2

Checklist for knowledge sharing:

  • written

  • pushed in advance

  • public

  • in proper place

Sync / async balance

Takeaway 3

Sync communication supports async communication, not replaces it

Example 1

Refinements

Text

Example 2

Confluence page on email offer

Example 3

A/B Test style guide

Takeaways

  1. Let's not communicate by meetings

  2. Sync communication supports async communication, not replaces it

  3. Checklist for knowledge sharing

  • written

  • pushed in advance

  • public

  • in proper place

deck

By fernandokokocha

deck

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