Are human relations skills important to computer programming?

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Thank you very much and...WOW!

I asked this a couple of different times yesterday and didn't get a response from anyone. I was starting to get a little worried. So maybe I went a little overboard and made several e-mails and posted it on a few forums, just hoping to get at least one solid response. That was a few hours ago and already the floodgates have opened. It seems a lot of people feel pretty strongly about this. Now I have something new to worry about. Which one will I turn in? I may just have to e-mail all of them to save a tree or two.

Thanks again,
Joe

Leo and I have worked together previously, and I can confirm that communications is key! This becomes even more critical for people who are not writing the code (program/project managers, functional analysts, software testers, product support) when they are trying to work with developers. Developers pour their heart and soul into their product and it becomes a part of them; other players should be considering this when forming questions, concerns, or suggestions. Good, considerate communications totally changes the team's ability to provide sustainable productivity.

Leo,

May I quote you!?!?!?

I teach computer science at a local community college. The thoughts and ideas you present here are exactly what I've been trying to convey to my students. You have said things in a few sentences that I have been trying to get across during an entire semester.

Great article ! !

Bill

I agree with Leo one hundred percent. Once someone has programmed a while in a couple different languages, they likely can pick up whatever new technology comes along next. But communicating well is a whole nother thing. And while not easy or perfect, it is possible to test proficiency at computer programming. Testing for good communication is much harder. Anyone who has read computer books, knows that good communication is brutally rare. It hardly ever exists in combination with technical skills (you never see the manager of a baseball team playing center field). I've read more than my share of computer books and found only two good authors.

Not just one class, perhaps three or four. Could go a long way toward explaining why humor is often mistaken for viciousness and nastiness on the part of the writer. I receive email from a few web sites where the sender is unaware that what he/she considers humor is viewed by many people as unnecessary rudeness. I believe one might consider this sort of thing as a sure way to lose readership. Even though I understand (usually) what the writer is trying to say, when I have reached saturation point I simply cancel my subscription to the newsletter. I have found I am not unique, either. In correspondence with others on the web, I find they do much the same thing (some with less kindness than I use.)

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Bill: Sure! But to be clear, depending on how much you plan or want to quote,
here are the terms for republishing: http://ask-leo.com/terms.html#copyright

Leo
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Communicating is essential in programming.

A programming instructor I once had expressed it with "the user doesn't know what they want until you give them what they asked for".

Being able to communicate well can save a lot of problems, and a lot of work down the line.

Computers are merely a form of communicating. I am an over the road semi-truck driver. I have seen drivers in a bad mood set at a produce packing shed for 2 days before getting loaded. Drivers are not paid for setting around. I have used some sweet talk ie. please & thank you, and salesmanship to get loaded around other trucks. Normal time to get a door is 5 hours, even the loaders could not believe that I got in that fast. The ability to communicate and instantly build a friendly relationship with others always means more money in your wallet. Give a law officer a hard time and they will get in your wallet and take your money or worse, take you to jail!

Great post and great comments. If you love programming then there is a good chance that you are an introvert...a person who looks inside themselves for gratification. The sooner you grow out of that and relize that programming starts outside of yourself...with the user...then that's when you will truly be of value to yourself and others. It ain't always easy to do; but any other way is just playing with yourself. Good Luck.

If there is one other human relationship skill that's important in programming, it's 'don't be a smartass'. What I mean by that is that when a user interacts with your program, they're not interested in seeing how clever you are - what they want is simplicity, ease of use, an intuitive interface.
So the skill is to exercise humility, bury your ego and put yourself in the place of the user who is meeting your creation for the first time. Where judgement and experience are called for is knowing how to design your interface at a sufficiently high level that the user doesn't feel as though you are treating them like an idiot, whilst not making it so complicated that only a rocket scientist can figure it out. Interface design is one of the keys to good programming, and this can only stem from a good understanding of how to relate to other people.

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