Bridging the Gap Between Technical Teams and Business Stakeholders

3 MINS

# Bridging the Gap Between Technical Teams and Business Stakeholders

Having spent years on both sides, as a developer and as a business analyst, I've seen the same communication gap in every organisation. Technical teams and business stakeholders often talk past each other.

Closing that gap is one of the most valuable things a product manager can do.

Where the Gap Comes From

Developers think in systems, dependencies, and edge cases. Business users think in outcomes, deadlines, and client needs. Neither perspective is wrong; they're just different.

The gap widens when:

Requirements are vague. "Make it faster" means different things to different people.

Technical constraints aren't communicated. Business teams don't understand why something "simple" takes weeks.

Assumptions go unstated. Both sides assume the other understands context they haven't shared.

How I Bridge the Gap

Years of requirement elicitation taught me a few practices:

Translate, don't just transmit. When passing requirements to engineering, add context about why the business needs it. When explaining delays to business, clarify the technical challenge without jargon.

Document assumptions explicitly. Write down what you think everyone understands. You'll be surprised how often it's not shared.

Create shared artifacts. Flowcharts, data models, and wireframes give both sides something concrete to react to.

The Value of Technical Background

Coming from a development background helps. I can read code, understand database schemas, and estimate complexity. This makes conversations with engineering teams more productive.

But you don't need to be a former developer. You need to be genuinely curious about how systems work and willing to ask questions until you understand.

Building Trust on Both Sides

Bridging the gap isn't a one-time effort. It's built through consistent behaviour: delivering on commitments, being honest about trade-offs, and respecting both perspectives.

When technical and business teams trust the product manager, alignment becomes much easier.

Why Data Quality is the Foundation of Great Products

Narendran skipped presentations and built real AI products.

Narendran Shanmugasundharam was part of the September 2025 cohort at Curious PM, alongside 13 other talented participants.