Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
noisy party room, shouting louder may not be as effective as changing
“channels” and signaling by hand. Similarly, in a project, if a person is
not responding to e-mails, then it would make sense to change channels
and leave a voicemail rather than send another e-mail reminder.
We would encourage readers who are not familiar with Information
and Communications Theory to read good topics available on the subject.
The Problem of Miscommunication
Miscommunication can occur at many levels. On the sender's side, it could
be due to errors in transmission or errors of content. When there are
errors in transmission, the message is garbled. When there are errors of
content, then
information is being sent. On the receiver's side, it
could be due to misinterpretation.
wrong
Avoid Picking the Wrong Information
Quite often, the wrong information — an incorrect or outdated database
schema, the wrong version of the specifications — gets sent. Such errors
happen at boundary conditions. When someone asks for the
latest
version
or the
version of the code, one might
pick up the wrong version. This is related to the possible states or messages
that can exist: there may be many more versions of the code or document
but only one
approved
version or the
production
version. The chances of picking up the wrong version
are much greater than the chances of picking up the right one. Good
organization or proper versioning tools aim to prevent such higher-
probability mistakes from occurring.
latest
Understanding the Sender's Responsibility
It is safe to assume that when one makes a request, one is transmitting
on a noisy channel. Noise always exists in the form of distractions or
inattention, or other such distorting factors. Whose responsibility is it to
ensure that the message gets across, that is, decoded properly on the
other side? It is the sender's responsibility. This must be made clear when
communication plans for the project are being discussed. If one asks for
the “project plans” and is sent a spreadsheet, while one was expecting a
deck of slides, then one is solely responsible for not making the request
clear that one expected the plans to be in a slide for mat, and not a
spreadsheet.
