Take some time and think what you really need and who can help you to get it. Don't give in to the temptation and just "throw it over the fence" to the next team. Also don't involve people just FYI (for your information) because they don't care in most cases. In addition to that you might earn a reputation as someone who sends meaningless communications.
I sometimes get long email chain's where the last person doesn't repeat the question/requirement but instead refers to a statement within the email chain. Now I have to go back and read the whole email or send it back to the sender to clarify. This is a serious time waster! Almost always multiple people are copied on these emails and so the waste is multiplied. Here I have some example guidelines that help me to choose a proper communication tool.
- IM: If you have a quick question and know that it can be answered without typing a novel
- email: When you want to clarify a situation, maybe even ahead of a meeting. The email should be concise and focus on some key points. As a guideline I always use 3 points, if it has more I keep refining it. If I have to read the email multiple times to make sense out of it, it is too long
- Meeting: (Phone, Face-to-Face, Web) When you have multiple stakeholders and a problem where not everyone has the same understanding it is good to have a meeting. To make the meeting successful you have to prepare it. Don't schedule meetings that you can't prepare.
