“How can I get my external partners to talk more?” “Why didn’t my external partners understand my feedback?” “Why are my external partners so direct in their communication?”

In any external development collaboration, communication is crucial in establishing alignment and creating deeper relationships. However, working with teams from different cultures and geographical locations post new trials for the local teams. Common challenges are getting the external partners to engage in open communication as well as maneuvering around differences in language comprehension, working principles, thought processes and comfort levels. Many times, even best practices that enhance effective communication such as proper documentations and clear roadmaps are overlooked.

This table-topic encourages developers to discuss their communication challenges in their external collaborations. It also aims to examine ways of facilitating processes that help teams to align effectively and creating an environment where external partners feel safe to carry out open communication. The goal is to have a mature pipeline that contributes to effective workflow and deeper relationships where these efforts can be achieved with ease, allowing the teams to see each other as a person and eventually create a healthy support system.