Communication; Going beyond code

Over the last few years, I’ve transitioned from the purely technical side of development to the world of project managers and sales teams. This move has given me a lot of valuable insights. When managing several projects, you start noticing common challenges across all projects.

One of the most common and costly challenges? The communication gap between developers and non-technical team members.

Developers are naturally focused on writing clean, efficient code and ensuring that features function as intended. This makes sense, we spend our time reading, writing, and reviewing code. However, what we sometimes overlook is that our non-technical colleagues (Product Owners (POs), testers, and stakeholders) aren’t following that same process.

Most non-technical team members track progress through the Jira board, but they don’t inherently know how a feature works unless they’re explicitly told how to interact with it. And when that communication doesn’t happen, features can get stuck in limbo for weeks.

A Common Example: The Stalled Product Carousel

A scenario I recently encountered highlights this issue perfectly. A developer completed a product carousel feature for an e-commerce platform. It passed technical review and was moved to the testing phase. But then... nothing. Weeks went by, and the ticket remained untouched.

  • The client was frustrated, thinking the feature was taking too long.
  • The developer was frustrated, wondering why no one was testing their work.
  • The real issue? Neither side realized what the other was waiting for.

While there were things the PO could have done differently, let’s focus on what the developer could have done to make their life easier.

Where the Breakdown happened

  1. 1️⃣ The ticket was moved to the "Testing" column, but the PO was never notified that it was ready.
  2. 2️⃣ There was no clear communication on how to test the feature, leading to confusion. Specifically:
  • No indication of which URL to use to check the feature.
  • No guidance on how a marketer could interact with the carousel in the back office. As a result, the feature sat untouched while everyone assumed someone else was handling it. Meanwhile, the project timeline got delayed, and frustration built across the team.

How Developers Can Improve Communication (and Make Their Lives Easier)

Improving communication within a project is a shared responsibility. However, developers don’t have to wait for process changes or for others to take initiative, this is something they can start doing right away to make their own lives easier.

By taking a few small steps, developers can prevent their work from getting stuck in limbo, avoid unnecessary frustration, and ensure features move through the pipeline smoothly:

  • ✅ Explicitly notify testers and the PO when a feature is ready. Don’t assume they will notice it in the backlog—send a quick message or tag them in Jira. This takes seconds but can save weeks of delays.
  • ✅ Provide clear testing steps, including URLs, login credentials, and any feature toggles required. If a feature isn’t immediately visible or requires a specific setup, make sure testers know how to access it.
  • ✅ Highlight potential edge cases or dependencies so testers can validate different scenarios. The clearer the instructions, the fewer back-and-forth clarifications will be needed.

These are simple actions that require little effort but have a huge impact. Developers don’t need to rely on POs, testers, or process changes to implement them—they can take the initiative and make their own work smoother today.