Communication Is Important — But It’s Not the Most Important Thing in Engineering Teams

Communication Is Important — But It’s Not the Most Important Thing in Engineering Teams “Communication is key.” We hear this all the time. And yes — communication matters. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Too much communication is often a sign of broken processes. Not everything should depend on talking In many teams, people say: “Let’s align on this” “We should discuss this” “Can we jump on a quick call?” But why does everything need alignment? Why do we need constant clarification? As product leader Marty Cagan often emphasizes, strong teams are empowered by clear context and autonomy — not constant coordination. If people need to ask at every step, something deeper is missing. The real problem: lack of clarity The biggest issue is not communication. It’s this question: “Where does my responsibility start and end?” When that’s not clear: People overstep Or worse — no one takes ownership Decisions get delayed Meetings multiply This connects directly with a classic idea from Melvin