6 communication habits that seem harmless... but quietly kill your IT project

Companies always care deeply about delivering high-quality services:

• The final product should be bug-free.

• It should be delivered on time.

• It should include everything that was discussed in the brief.

But there’s one small detail that often gets overlooked – and it’s a big one.

We’re talking about communication mistakes.

Mistakes made by both software providers and their clients – and often, they don’t even realize they’re making them.

Even though communication is super important, it’s surprisingly easy to mess it up without noticing.

That’s why we’re taking a closer look at common slip-ups on both sides – the kind of stuff that can quietly slow things down without anyone realizing what’s going on.

I asked Łukasz, one of Rocksoft’s Tech Leads, about the kinds of mistakes he’s seen over the years – things that are so common, people often don’t even recognize them as mistakes.

You might even spot some of these in your own day-to-day work. That’s exactly why we wrote this article – to shine a light on these situations and show where both service providers and clients might have room to level up.

Potential improvement areas – software providers

Using overly technical language

“It's a DNS propagation issue.” To the client, that basically means “some tech magic broke, don’t ask.” But the client does ask – because their business is affected. Just because your team understands what you’re saying doesn’t mean your client does. Phrases like “refactoring the backend for GraphQL,” or “issue caused by RDS throttling” might be accurate, but sound like gibberish if you’re not technical.

Great specialists know how to break stuff down in normal words, and that’s a real skill.

No context or reasoning behind decisions

Sometimes teams change things just because “that’s how it’s done now” or “this tech is better.” But the client isn’t buying a fancy new tool – they’re buying results. Instead of saying “we’re switching to Next.js,” say “your site will load faster, which should improve conversion.” Clients don’t need the technical lowdown, but they do need to understand why you’re doing something. Context isn’t extra. It’s part of the job.

Saying yes to everything

The client says they want X. The team nods and builds X. Even if X isn’t a great idea or there’s a better way to solve the problem.

And here’s the thing: clients often don’t just want someone to do the task – they want someone who can guide them.

If a team just ticks boxes without asking questions, the client might end up with something that works but isn’t really what they needed. Being a real partner means saying: “Sure, we could do that,  but want to hear a better option?”

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These are spots where teams might not even notice they’re leaving value on the table, but small tweaks here can make a big difference.

Clients also sometimes make things harder without even noticing. Here are three of the most common ones Łukasz has come across:

Potential improvement areas – clients

Vague briefs

“It doesn’t work.” Or: “Improve the UX.” That’s it. No screenshot, no details, no background. The dev team is left guessing. But even a basic bug report should include a screenshot, link, browser, device, and a short note on what actually happened. The fewer the details, the more time lost on back-and-forth.

Everything is a priority

“This is all super important,” says the client. And the team’s stuck not knowing what to do first. Without clear priorities, even a well-organized team can waste hours on the wrong stuff. A simple ranking like “1 – must-have, 2 – important, 3 – nice to have” can save a lot of headaches.

Expecting fast results without knowing what’s behind the scenes

“It’s just a small change to the form,” the client says. But that tiny change means updates to the backend, validation, APIs, tests – maybe even core business logic. What looks simple on the screen might mean serious work under the hood. Clients don’t need to understand the codebase, but it helps to know that sometimes “quick fixes” aren’t that quick.

Final thoughts

Communication between service providers and clients can make or break a project.

Spotting and avoiding these common mistakes can seriously save a lot of time and money.

I’ve noticed over the years how small communication mistakes can turn into big problems – like delays or a product that’s not quite right. It’s not about blaming anyone; it’s about fixing things early. A quick talk to clear up a confusing brief or explaining why we suggest something can help a lot. We’re all working together to make something awesome, and good communication is a huge part of that.

‍ - Łukasz