Is Code Talking the key to great Software?

A very nice article on software team dynamics.

Products can be shipped with good or bad communication, but the job is far easier and more exciting with a group of programmers that talk code. Whether it’s over cube walls, at the water cooler or to-and-from Starbucks – it plays into code that’s far better than one great programmer could create by himself/herself.

Code-Talking happens between developers and cannot be mandated by management. However, code-talking almost never happens in formal meeting environments. Code-Talking happens when no one is worried that sharing their code and ideas will be used against them in any way. Most importantly, code-talking only happens when developers value each others' opinions and experiences in an open environment.

Beyond the communication benefits, code-talking is one thing that can trigger passion in developers. I’ve found that many computer science Phds are natural code-talkers and contribute immensely to team communications – they tend to be highly motivated and view software development as the greatest job in the world.