Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Why Enterprise Engineers Need Great Communication Skills

As the number of people or groups involved in a body of work increases, so does the complexity in communications between all parties. In other words, it gets harder to keep everybody up to date as the number of people involved in any given body of work increases.

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If one was to model the number of relationships between bodies in a project then the formula would look like this; (n * (n-1))/2 where n is the number of people involved in the project.

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So according to the formula if we have 3 people working together, the number of possible communications relationships is (3 * 2)/2 = 3. However, if we have double that number, 6 people or groups in a project, then the formula highlights a drastic increase in communications that need to be managed; (6 * 5)/2 = 15. When there are 100 people or groups involved then the result is a whopping 4950 relationships that need to be managed in order to keep everybody up to date with events!

As you can see, the higher the number of people or groups involved the more complex the communications get. Organizations have long understood this phenomenon and as a result processes exist in order to simplify and assist in the management of this difficult task.

This is why it is important for enterprise engineers to understand and comply with any existing processes in place to manage changes or projects. Not only will good communications keep the project members well informed, but it will also help you to voice concerns, milestones and announcements to relevant parties efficiently and without forgetting anybody.

So what are the basics in order for a technical person to achieve good communications levels in an enterprise environment? Here are our top 5 tips in no particular order;

1. Always put context around your messages. People may be involved with other tasks and projects and may not necessarily know what body of work you are referring to.

2. Deliver messages to the appropriate stakeholders. People directly and indirectly involved with the change need to know what is going on. For example, a network operations center may not be directly involved with the project or change but they may need to know of any scheduled downtime. Managers and support groups are also key groups to notify.

3. Adjust the language in your response to suit your target audience. This includes explaining an 'english' version of the proposed technical changes or outcomes.

4. Send messages in a timely manner. Sometimes it is appropriate to forewarn stakeholders of upcoming changes or events. It gives them an opportunity to consider the changes and to ask questions or voice concerns.

5. Be sure to understand the appropriate messaging system. You will notice that I have been cautious throughout the article to make sure not to specifically mention email or trouble tickets. Whatever the messaging system(s) your organization has in place is the appropriate tool to disperse the information.

Delivering great technical solutions is only half the battle for an enterprise engineer. The remainder is the communication with the teams and stakeholders to ensure that all levels of the organization have been well informed.

Why Enterprise Engineers Need Great Communication Skills

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