In the industry, there’s this widespread joke. Whatever the question you ask a consultant, the answer will be: It depends. This joke is meant to highlight that consultants never give a straight answer to a simple question, because they don’t want to take any responsibility. While I understand the frustration of the business when faced with this situation, I’d like to write about the other side of the fence.

Let’s face it, most developers - myself included, prefer to deal with code than with people. However, when communicating with other developers, we share a common context and understanding, which makes a lot of explanations unnecessary. It’s the same for all specialized jobs, such as lawyers or civil engineers.