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It’s time developers added another language to their tech stacks...ENGLISH!

In this technical manual, Andrea Goulet and M. Scott Ford provide software developers architecture, syntax and patterns they need to know to communicate their ideas. This reference guide walks readers through common scenarios a developer is likely to encounter, such as introducing yourself to a stranger at a conference, providing feedback on pull requests, what to do when a marketing person asks if you’ve “got a sec”, Slack channel etiquette, naming variables, methods, and classes, how to write an error message, and more. The book is structured like Martin Fowler’s Refactoring and Joshua Kerievsky’s Refactoring To Patterns. Each section will reference the relevant communication patterns that will help the developer refactor their communication.

In today’s cross-functional world, good communication is a critical skill for developers. Yet, there are virtually no books on the market that structure communication skills in a way that is specific enough for the software developer. Many books approach facets of this topic, such as Soft Skills by John Sonmez, Clean Code by Robert Martin, and The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas. This book will have a broad appeal to software developers, Agile practitioners, and user experience designers of all levels. The content in this book is not a fad and will be useful to developers years and decades into the future.

Andrea and Scott make the perfect team to author this book. As the founders of Corgibytes, a software development consultancy dedicated to modernizing codebases, they’ve spent the past decade working through and documenting the challenges illustrated in this book.

Before joining Corgibytes, Andrea trained thousands of people in communication skills, many at global brands such as The Smithsonian, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Verizon, and more. Since joining Corgibytes as the CEO in 2009, she has implemented a communication first approach to the company’s work, embodied in the core value “Communication Is Just As Important As Code.” She keynotes frequently on this topic at conferences such as Ruby Nation and .NETFringe and is in an ideal position to promote the book and aid in its marketing once published.

Since launching Corgibytes in 2008, Scott has worked through the developer challenges in this book. Like so many developers, he bought into the stereotype early in his career that he was a poor communicator who should just bury his head in the codebase. As an entrepreneur and budding thought leader, he has undergone a personal transformation that will resonate with readers. His message: Communication is a skill. If you can learn how to code, you can learn how to communicate, and this book will show you how.

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