I was telling the guys the other day that never have I ever saw a project failing due to over communication, but dozen of projects failed for taking the wrong assumptions. Promoting them to communicate more. This sparked a discussion that sometimes over communication can cause engineers to lose the signal because of all the noise. I never experienced, have you?

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A discussion about whether over-communication can harm software projects. The author argues that projects fail more often from wrong assumptions than excessive communication, while acknowledging concerns that too much communication might create noise that obscures important signals for engineers.

Over communication

I do think it’s important to note that everyone’s communication style can be a little different. Some communicate well via messaging or email and therefore may need less communication. Others seem to need to videoconference or meet in person for nearly every thought that’s in their head. I think balance is the keynote rather than applying a rule that more communication = good communication. I know many that aren’t great at communication in any sense and spending more time with them will leave me having more confusion than clarity. I think it ultimately falls on management to understand their people and find what works best for them. If the question is: “will over communication cause us to fail” I think a better question is: “what’s the best style and amount of communication for my team”.
That said I believe that probably an area that needs improvement for most remote teams is communication. It’s true that it’s all to easy to assume intent rather than simply verify next steps. A little more communication for remote teams is probably the right answer for most.

TLDR it depends 😂 Over communicate or not depends on the experience of the team, the current situation on the project, etc. You have to listen to the team and be flexible.
My opinion on over communication:
I believe that one of the responsibilities of a leader is to provide as much context as possible to those who will be working on the solution so that they can make the best decisions. I also believe that you never know what information will be useful and when, so it is up to the consumer to filter and process it, not the producer.
But there is definitely no silver bullet for communication because:
<ol>
<li>With over communication you can overwhelm your employees</li>
<li>With more delicate communication you can miss sharing something important</li>
</ol>
I prefer the over communication path, but I have personally experienced a situation where the team was overwhelmed by all the information, so now I think of over communication as a target state that you have to reach by developing your team

I’m stating my problem with this jargon word used by C-suite/leadership/senior management persons, “communication”. They always tell to communicate more but fail to do so themselves. And it’s easy to fall for this when you’re under pressure to deliver FAST while wearing multiple hats. I have fallen in past and recovered from it.
What do one mean by communicate more? has one ever made it clear what one is expecting from you?
I had experience with two type of people:
<ol>
<li>who only tell you what one is expecting from you only after you have fallen short of expectation, but never helps you understand why? or what could be done to improve it. ( I only ever heard short remarks in frustrated or angry tone in my early years, and the feedback is only given during appraisals )</li>
<li>same situation, but this one takes time to coach you, helps you understand why and what you could have done to make it better. (thankfully, I had two team mates like that helping me.)</li>
</ol>
Later, I had a chance to work as the founding engineer of a startup, which got acquired in 8 months. Then I got to work with those C-suite guys and to lead a team of 4 engineers. That is when I really felt how important is communication.
For me, to communicate is not to just meet and relay the intent. it’s more about relaying once and confirming by follow-ups and discussions until you every one is more or less aligned. And it is also critical to provide more details.
As very well said by <a href="https://app.daily.dev/kkurko" data-mention-id="IXalnaxWMtGrFtZ6XDX4U" data-mention-username="kkurko" translate="no">@kkurko</a>,
<blockquote>
I believe that one of the responsibilities of a leader is to provide as much context as possible to those who will be working on the solution so that they can make the best decisions. I also believe that you never know what information will be useful and when, so it is up to the consumer to filter and process it, not the producer.
</blockquote>
I have diligently followed this to make sure my team always do the minimal that is required to fulfill the expectations. But also have failed to get through to or get detailed information from upper management about their intent.

It depends on the context, and also what is it that is being communicated. If you’ve the same stick for everyone, then the problem is with you, and not them.
Just to give some examples from one of my previous teams (a small team/company):
<ol>
<li>A daily standup (supposed to be a 10-15 mins affair) frequently stretching to 1.5 hrs or more. One could say it was communication, but many would disagree.</li>
<li>A two-way feedback session where the manager/CEO spoke first for 50 minutes, and then asked for his feedback. in the remaining 10mins. Again, one could say it was communication, but many would disagree.</li>
</ol>
You need to calibrate your approach from person to person. Some detest over communication (pointing the index finger towards me), while some others don’t get the “why” unless you remind them again and again.