Collaboration
External Communication
How to communicate with other teams and departments
Why We Need External Communication Standards
Teams don't exist in isolation — they need to collaborate with product, design, operations, and other engineering teams. Without standards, external communication easily leads to:
- Information distortion: Requirements change shape after passing through multiple people
- Unclear responsibilities: Not knowing who to contact or who can make decisions
- Low communication efficiency: Repeated confirmations, waiting for replies, too many meetings
How to Implement
Designate Points of Contact
- For each cross-team project or domain, designate a point of contact
- The contact is responsible for collecting and relaying information, preventing confusion from multiple people interfacing
- The contact isn't the only person who can communicate, but they are the information hub
Communication Channels
- Formal requests: Submit through project management tools (Jira / Linear) — trackable and traceable
- Daily communication: Discuss in public channels — avoid DMs that create information opacity
- Urgent matters: Reach out directly or call, then document afterward
- Regular syncs: Schedule recurring sync meetings for cross-team projects
Communication Principles
- Come with a proposed solution, not just a problem
- Clarify the purpose before communicating: Do you need a decision, information, or assistance?
- Confirm important conclusions via email or document — verbal agreements are easily forgotten
- Respect others' time and priorities — don't assume your issue is the most urgent
Request Management
- Collect external requests through a unified channel — don't let them insert directly into the team's development plan
- Evaluate priority and effort before committing to a timeline
- For unreasonable requests, be willing to say No and explain why
- Keep requests transparent so the team knows the source and context