Although principally tailored to developers and architects, the patterns in this book can be applied by, and provide benefits to, anyone in the software and technology industries (and other industries besides). The relevancy of each pattern and antipattern will depend on your role.

For example, Part I will be useful to business analysts (BAs), and Part IV will be useful to anyone working in a remote or hybrid environment, or with customers in another time zone. Managers and leaders will greatly benefit from Parts II, III, and IV, with the added benefit of being able to disseminate the techniques and principles to their reports and teams.

Many patterns and principles in this book come from domains very different from software, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they can be applied in still more domains.

Why I Wrote This Book

Throughout my career in software development and software architecture, I have frequently discovered that the principles and techniques I apply naturally do not come naturally to others. In some cases, I have applied knowledge I learned from somewhere else to the technology domain, and in others, my approach just seemed to me the right way to do it.

I realized that I had built up many patterns and antipatterns in my toolbox, and not all were the type that can be applied to code or architecture. Some were applicable to what many would describe as soft skills, like creating diagrams and documentation. Even some that were designed to be used in code or architecture, I was applying outside of their intended use.

It turned out that these soft patterns and antipatterns could all be categorized as communication patterns and, recognizing that my tool kit was not widely accessible to others, I determined to make it available. The result is this book and the training courses that I provide through O’Reilly and privately (along with other architectural courses and consulting).

My intention in writing this book is to improve communication of teams and organizations within the technology sector so that individuals can increase their productivity and general happiness, and organizations see an improvement in their return on investment (ROI) and even their bottom line.

Investing in your soft skills will enhance your technical skills and make you a stand-out technical star.

I consider myself to be a lifelong learner and would love to hear your experiences of applying the patterns and antipatterns in this book, and of any other methods you use to optimize the way you and your colleagues communicate. You can contact me via O’Reilly, my website, or social media.