Comms in Software Development

Hi everyone, my name is Chris Gossett and I am a senior in Computer Information Systems. I have an A.S. in Computer Technology and hope to obtain a position somewhere on a software development team after graduation from Clemson. As for interesting facts, I’m afraid I don’t have much to tell; I do enjoy reading good books(currently awaiting George Martin's Dance With Dragons), hiking and finding waterfalls.

In software development, effective communication skills are a major necessity. The ability for a development team(s) to convey their understanding of the client’s requirements to each other and the client is critical.

Face to face communication between a client and developers or leads has been the historically typical method of communication in software development, however with the expanding marketplace and newer technologies becoming available, communication methods have transitioned to more remotely accessible ways. Technologies such as telephone, email, instant messaging, texting and video chatting have become commonplace and day-to-day within the software field, with the latter becoming more popular in recent years.

Effective communication in the software field involves having the ability between all of the people you work with, whether they be your clients, managers, developers or analysts.

Some important skills to have in this field are the ability to communicate effectively between members in your development field to those who are unfamiliar with the technical aspects of the business, such as potential clients. Potential clients may come from many different fields and may have many different needs and requirements for the software which they require and it will be your job to effectively attempt to understand what their requirements are and convey them to your other developers in technical terms.