Bridging the Developer-Customer Gap

Customers 👉 Account Manager 👉 Product Owner 👉 Developers

This was the path the customer’s voice had to travel in an organization I worked with. By the time feedback reached the developers, it was filtered, delayed, and often distorted. And the company’s Account Manager? He was stuck in the middle, frustrated beyond belief.

He constantly spoke with angry customers, stressed-out Product Owners, and overworked Developers. No one was happy.

The customer was angry because:
😩The software was full of bugs
😩 Releasing improvements was very slow

The Developers were angry because:
😡 They were under lots of pressure
😡 Teams had dependencies, which made releasing difficult
😡 Customers wanted new features, so there wasn’t time for bug-fixing

😤 The Product Owners were angry because they had a limited mandate to make meaningful (product) decisions.

And in the middle of it all? The Account Manager, absorbing everyone’s frustration like a sponge.

I felt sorry for him. He was in a terrible spot.

So, my question was:

“Why not have developers talk to customers directly? Wouldn’t that create shared understanding?”

One of the worries was that this would escalate the situation, frustrating the developers even more and pushing them to leave the company.

“If I told the developers the same things the customers tell me… Oh boy…”

That response stunned me. I didn’t even have words, but my face probably said everything. 🤯

This situation didn’t emerge overnight. It had built up over time, spreading like an invisible virus throughout the company. No one addressed it early enough, so it kept getting worse. But now, it had reached a critical point.

For a software company, this kind of disconnect is a disaster waiting to happen. Fixing it isn’t optional — it’s essential.

A first step is creating transparency around stakeholder satisfaction. Without clear insights, teams are left guessing about what matters. Using Columinity, you can measure stakeholder satisfaction and identify where the gaps are. This data-informed approach helps teams move from frustration to action, focusing on the most impactful improvements. Start small, track progress, and use feedback to guide meaningful change. 😎

Where to start? Try these experiments

If you recognize the situation, here are a few experiments to start improving:

• Experiment: Start A Stakeholder Treasure Hunt. Identify the key stakeholders and map their frustrations. Who’s involved? Who’s impacted? Where are the real bottlenecks?
• Experiment: Give The Stakeholder A Desk Close To The Team. Reduce the layers of communication. Put the customer (or someone close to them) next to the developers. See what happens.
• Experiment: Observe What Is Happening. Step back and watch the interactions. How do requests flow? Where do delays happen? What assumptions are being made?
• Product: Measure stakeholder satisfaction with Columinity. Stop guessing — get real data on stakeholders' feelings and track progress over time.

What would you do?

Imagine you are assigned as the coach (Scrum Master/Agile Coach) for these teams. What would you do? How would you handle this situation? 🤔