Speaking human: Engineers who communicate effectively with empathy

Test Double, a custom software consultancy, hired a news reporter to help tell its story.

I joined the team in October as senior content manager – and my roots are in journalism, not tech. I spent more than 10 years as an investigative reporter and editor for the top newspaper publishing company in the U.S.

I’ve also worked with very bright engineering minds in aerospace, healthcare, and IT, and it can be tough to fully understand what they do, let alone tell the story of their work in an authentic yet relatable way. So, when I joined Test Double, I was prepared for a challenge.

It turns out the developers and engineers at Test Double have a rare gift: an ability to translate the complex world of coding and software development to a broader audience. They speak human.

They embody a unique blend of business acumen, communication skills, and empathy — a human bridge between software and business. It’s a skill set that transcends what I came to expect of engineering.

Just last week alone:

•  Steve Jackson contextualized for me why it’s important to stay current on your Rails upgrades by drawing a parallel to exercise (it’s an important habit to start, but overwhelming to catch up all at once). With that relatable analogy, he painted a vivid picture of incremental progress vs. overwhelming change.
•  Ross Brandes spotted when I was trying to update website content and struggling with code breaks, and he proactively reached out to support. He simultaneously helped fix it and taught me for next time, all with an empathetic message that he was happy to help.
•  Kevin Baribeau broke down how he doubled the speed of a driving directions API. He turned what could have been a dry technical guide into a compelling narrative of innovation and problem solving.

These are just a few glimpses into how our consultants are not your average developers. They work shoulder-to-shoulder with teammates, while communicating effectively to the intended audience and improving the process along the way.

I recently asked co-founder Todd Kaufman why we call Test Double a consultancy rather than an agency. The answer had a lot to do with the communication skills and proactive problem solving I’ve witnessed.

“Consultancy reflects our aspirational vision to improve the way the world builds software,” Todd said. “Our consultants can deliver product like developers at an agency do, and then they go beyond that. They see the bigger picture of business goals and processes, and they have the communication skills to radiate back a fresh perspective that can help leave teams better than we found them.”

Now I get why Test Double consultants are more than great software developers.

And it’s the same reason they made the unusual move to to hire a journalist:

The company’s mission is rooted in the belief that software challenges are inherently human challenges. There’s a deep commitment to telling the story of software in a transparent, relatable, and empowering way – all in the name of our brand promise: Great software is made by great teams. We build both.