Human interaction increases product/service quality

Jaime Yáñez
4 min readJun 17, 2022

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Photo by: Tim Marshall.

Those who work in software development spend the day leaning on our trusty tools. Our IDEs help us write code, and our test libraries help us verify that what we have written is correct and reliable. But when you work in a team, especially one focused on growing products, it can sometimes feel like there’s nothing to help you overcome the frustrations that naturally arise when people with different opinions and personalities work together toward a goal. Common. But the truth is that there is a tool for it. When your development team is having trouble with their collective ability to communicate effectively or productively discuss priorities, Clean Language may be the answer. Clean Language is a simple yet powerful communication model that enables teams to achieve higher levels of interaction and product improvement. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it before: in this article, I’ll show you how to clean Language can improve the success rate of your agile team.

Confidence

Agile teams are built on trust. And it is that trust that emerges through Language and interaction.

Trust is the foundation of conversation, collaboration, and relationships, not only between team members but also with your customers. Clear communication is the fuel that keeps a development team moving efficiently and effectively, which in turn helps you deliver products to market faster than ever.

When we talk about clean communication in an agile environment, we mean three things:

Clarity: This means using words that people understand; make sure the meaning is not lost in translation (no pun intended). It also means using words that do what they say they will do instead of making promises without being able to keep them later when it matters most; avoiding jargon or using technical terms when simpler ones would suffice; be specific rather than vague (“we’ll send it when we have all the approvals from the legal department”). If something doesn’t make sense, ask until it does. We are all here because we want to make things better for others, so don’t hesitate if something seems confusing at first glance… there is always room for improvement!

No inference: We will first share the evidence of our assumptions. To put the people around us in the same space and clean our interaction of crazy conclusions.

And with a clear impact — when communicating, it is also essential to share the result of what we evidence and conclude to be able to quickly search for action plans that allow the improvement of the product or service that we increase but also the progress of the team and its interactions.

And that trust is given by daily interaction

Clean Language is about being constructive and solution-oriented. It’s about being honest and open in conversation, which leads to a more productive team meeting or interaction. By using clean Language, you can develop clarity around the problem you’re trying to solve, find creative solutions, and build a strong relationship with your colleagues, leading to better work overall.

When we talk about clean Language in the context of agile teams (or any team), we usually mean that all team members treat each other respectfully and without inference. Instead of saying things like “You’re wrong!”, try saying something like “You may have misunderstood me because ____ (fill in the blank). Can we take a step back? Let me explain again to ensure I have been mistaken before proceeding with this idea.

Communication is the fuel that keeps a team moving efficiently and effectively.

But what does it take to communicate well? First of all, let’s divide the idea of ​​communication into two parts: listening and speaking. Your ability to listen well will help you understand what others are saying, which will help them feel heard and understood, making everyone happy!

And your ability to speak? Suppose you’re going to talk to other people on your team or even to yourself. In that case, it’s essential that they can understand what you’re saying without having to ask for clarification all the time. You want them to know exactly where you stand so they can move forward with their part of the project without any problems or confusion along the way. And if there is any doubt about something that has been said, it should be reviewed again.

To improve these skills, we need to practice communicating effectively and being aware of how others react when they are spoken to (or not). Also, when working closely together as teammates, there are opportunities where one may hear another talking about an idea out loud, which could be helpful feedback; however, sometimes these conversations can distract from productivity, as there may not be structure around them yet in place within group norms, such as time constraints before making decisions based on ideas put forth by members rather than entire teams working collectively to accomplish goals that might require collaboration across agencies.

There is no increase without interaction

Product creation and growth are built on solid relationships. Trust, relationships, and communication are the keys to success for agile teams. Agile teams are built on trust. Trust comes through Language and interaction. Clean Language, agile team interaction, and relationships are connected in the sense that they all build trust by showing respect for the ideas, feelings, and abilities of others. Clear communication is the fuel that keeps a development team moving efficiently and effectively toward its goals.

Then?

In this article, we have seen why trust is so crucial in a team. We’ve also looked at how communication skills — especially those built around clear, Clean Language — can help build trusting relationships between team members and stakeholders. These relationships, in turn, are the foundation for successful product creation. So if you want to increase your impact on product development and enjoy your work experience, keep this premise in mind: Better relationships lead to better products.

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