Writing Well: A Data Engineer’s Advantage
How to write clear and concise emails as a data engineer
Data Engineering bridges the gap between technology and business by building scalable data solutions to efficiently solve business problems. Strong communication skill is a must-have for Data Engineers because collaboration with cross-functional teams is an undetachable part of their day-to-day work.
Writing clear messages is very important to prevent friction with stakeholders or misunderstandings with direct colleagues. Failing to do so could cause multiple sessions to realign and hurt the whole team’s productivity while increasing everyone’s stress levels.
All because of an ambiguous message that was wrongly interpreted!
There are many professional settings where Data Engineers need to communicate with stakeholders through emails. In this blog, I will demonstrate how to write effective emails in different scenarios by providing examples of both bad and good writing.
Meet Joe, a Data Engineer at a tech startup. While Joe has strong technical skills, his written communication skills could use some improvement. In the following examples, we’ll see how Joe can benefit from clearer and more effective communication, reducing the likelihood of confusion and misunderstandings among his colleagues.
💼 Business writing
It’s Friday late afternoon on a rainy day and Joe just released his new feature to increase the pipelines performance. He’s stressed out because the feature took longer to complete than anticipated, and he’s now rushing to finish his report for the stakeholders. In his haste, he doesn’t consider how his highly technical language might be difficult for the non-technical stakeholders to understand.
This is a significant oversight, as the stakeholders may struggle to comprehend the importance of his work. He should have taken the time to write a clear and concise email, explaining the technical aspects of the pipeline, any challenges faced during implementation, and how he and his team overcame them. All this should be presented in a way that’s easy for the stakeholders to understand.
In the bad example above, Joe uses excessive technical jargon and terminology, which ultimately confuses the non-technical stakeholders. Additionally, it lacks a comprehensive explanation of the challenges encountered during implementation and how Joe and his team tackled them.
Conversely, the enhanced example offers a clear and concise overview of the new data pipeline’s performance, encompassing a description of the technical hurdles faced and their resolutions. Moreover, it includes an extra paragraph, making the email more reader-friendly.
The revised version is superior because it conveys technical information to non-technical stakeholders in a comprehensible and approachable way. By steering clear of technical jargon and presenting a clear account of the pipeline’s performance, the refined email is more likely to engage and resonate with the stakeholders.
📚 Technical writing
Joe is burned out from the last complex feature request and is going to take a small vacation, before he’s leaving he wants to make sure that he has everything covered and will not get any unnecessary questions during his leave. To prepare for this, he’s making a new manual for his colleagues to be able to maintain the data pipelines in case any errors occur.
The bad example comes off as nonchalant, as if he doesn’t care what happens to the team during his time off. The explanations are too shallow and no extra sources were provided, some team members might not even know where the credentials are located!
In the improved version, he truly comes off as someone that wants the team to have a good control over the pipeline and well advised in case something goes wrong. He provided several links with additional information and he even asked his teammates to familiarize themselves with the instructions so that if any questions arise, he still has time to clarify them before going on vacation.
⌨️ Short-form writing
Just like yourself, Joe also regularly asks his colleagues for their input. Now, this can be done in many different ways and every colleague likes to be communicated through in a specific way. But the takeaway is, to get a proper answer, Joe has to formulate his questions well.
The first example doesn’t really say what information Joe is looking for. It will take some back-and-forth messaging to figure out what help he actually needs. Plus, the bad example also sounds disrespectful to the colleagues who built the API.
In contrast, the improved version clearly states that Joe needs more context on the authentication process. It even suggests several ways to receive help, either through written guidance or a quick peer-programming session. As a result, Joe will get help from colleagues more quickly.
💰 Grant writing
Because Joe is working for a small-sized tech startup, he’s required to wear multiple hats. Sometimes he has to give his fair share of input to request a government grant. For this, he can’t have a rude attitude and needs to explain his project more clearly: what the product is about and what challenges might arise.
In the bad example, Joe was too generic and lacked specificity in terms of the problem and solution, whereas the improved version is more detailed, outlining the specific healthcare issue it aims to address — optimizing operating room scheduling and nurse staffing. The improved version effectively conveys the relevance and value of the proposed data warehousing solution and demonstrates its potential impact on healthcare efficiency and patient care.
Additionally, the improved version showcases the team’s expertise and capabilities by elaborating on the advanced techniques and tools to be used in the project. This strengthens the case for funding, providing the grant committee with a clearer understanding of the proposed solution and the team’s ability to deliver it.
Tips on writing well
- Plan your message: Before writing the email, consider the purpose, key points, and the intended outcome. This will help structure your email and ensure that the content is relevant and concise.
- Use clear and concise language: Choose simple words and phrases to make your message easily understandable. Avoid jargon, technical terms, or long-winded sentences that may confuse the reader.
- Organize your thoughts: Break your email into logical sections or paragraphs. Each paragraph should focus on a single idea or topic, making it easier for the reader to follow your train of thought.
- Be mindful of tone: Ensure that your email’s tone is appropriate for the intended audience. Be polite, professional, and respectful, even when discussing difficult topics or sharing negative feedback.
- Utilize tools: Employ resources like Grammarly to assist in identifying and rectifying grammar and spelling mistakes, and use Hemingway App to pinpoint difficult-to-read sentences, helping you make them easier to comprehend.
- Proofread: In case you’re sending out a very important report to one of your biggest stakeholders, make sure to have a colleague proofread your email to be sure that there aren’t any mistakes that you’ve overlooked.
Conclusion
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” — George Bernard Shaw
Effective communication is crucial for promoting teamwork, boosting productivity, and minimizing misunderstandings or tensions between data engineers and stakeholders.
When data engineers express their thoughts and ideas clearly, it leads to better work relationships and more positive perceptions of their professional skills.
