--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the worst disconnects of a…" description: "\"“One of the worst disconnects of a business software development effort is seen in the gap between domain experts and software developers. Generally sp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/vaughn-vernon-42097_business_one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-busine_1278533.jpg" --- # One of the worst disconnects of a business software… ![“One of the worst disconnects of a business software development effort is seen in the gap between domain experts and software developers. Generally speaking, true domain experts are focused on delivering business value. On the other hand, software developers are typically drawn to technology and…” quote by Vaughn Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/vaughn-vernon-42097_business_one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-busine_1278533.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/vaughn-vernon-42097_business_one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-busine_1278533.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/vaughn-vernon-42097_business_one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-busine_1278533.jpg) > ““One of the worst disconnects of a business software development effort is seen in the gap between domain experts and software developers. Generally speaking, true domain experts are focused on delivering business value. On the other hand, software developers are typically drawn to technology and technical solutions to business problems. It’s not that software developers have wrong motivations; it’s just what tends to grab their attention. Even when software developers engage with domain experts, the collaboration is largely at a surface level, and the software that gets developed often results in a translation/mapping between how the business thinks and operates and how the software developer interprets that. The resulting software generally does not reflect a recognizable realization of the mental model of the domain experts, or perhaps it does so only partially. Over time this disconnect becomes costly. The translation of domain knowledge into software is lost as developers transition to other projects or leave the company. A different, yet related problem is when one or more domain experts do not agree with each other. This tends to happen because each expert has more or less experience in the specific domain being modeled, or they are simply experts in related but different areas. It’s also common for multiple “domain experts” to have no expertise in a given domain, where they are more of a business analyst, yet they are expected to bring insightful direction to discussions. When this situation goes unchecked, it results in blurred rather than crisp mental models, which lead to conflicting software models. Worse still is when the technical approach to software development actually wrongly changes the way the business functions. While a different scenario, it is well known that enterprise resource planning (ERP) software will often change the overall business operations of an organization to fit the way the ERP functions. The total cost of owning the ERP cannot be fully calculated in terms of license and maintenance fees. The reorganization and disruption to the business can be far more costly than either of those two tangible factors. A similar dynamic is at play as your software development teams interpret what the business needs into what the newly developed software actually does. This can be both costly and disruptive to the business, its customers, and its partners. Furthermore, this technical interpretation is both unnecessary and avoidable with the use of proven software development techniques. The solution is a key investment.”” [Vaughn Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaughn-vernon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The gap between domain experts and developers leads to misaligned software, causing costly misunderstandings and inefficiencies. **In simple terms:** Miscommunication between experts and developers creates poor software. Key Takeaway Bridge communication gaps to align software with business needs. Themes communication alignment software development domain expertise collaboration Mood pragmatic reflective collaborative Type professional inspirational When to use this quote - project planning - requirements gathering - team workshops - software design Key Concepts systems thinking knowledge transfer agile methodology Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure shared understanding throughout a project? - What tools help translate domain knowledge accurately? A Different Perspective Even with improved communication, differing priorities can still cause conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Business problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-problems/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Software development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software-development/) ## Related quotes > [The point of college is more to acquire skills than to acquire domain knowledge. 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Generally speaking, true domain experts are focused on delivering business value. On the other hand, software developers are typically drawn to technology and technical solutions to business problems. It’s not that software developers have wrong motivations; it’s just what tends to grab their attention. Even when software developers engage with domain experts, the collaboration is largely at a surface level, and the software that gets developed often results in a translation/mapping between how the business thinks and operates and how the software developer interprets that. The resulting software generally does not reflect a recognizable realization of the mental model of the domain experts, or perhaps it does so only partially. Over time this disconnect becomes costly. The translation of domain knowledge into software is lost as developers transition to other projects or leave the company. A different, yet related problem is when one or more domain experts do not agree with each other. This tends to happen because each expert has more or less experience in the specific domain being modeled, or they are simply experts in related but different areas. It’s also common for multiple “domain experts” to have no expertise in a given domain, where they are more of a business analyst, yet they are expected to bring insightful direction to discussions. When this situation goes unchecked, it results in blurred rather than crisp mental models, which lead to conflicting software models. Worse still is when the technical approach to software development actually wrongly changes the way the business functions. While a different scenario, it is well known that enterprise resource planning (ERP) software will often change the overall business operations of an organization to fit the way the ERP functions. The total cost of owning the ERP cannot be fully calculated in terms of license and maintenance fees. The reorganization and disruption to the business can be far more costly than either of those two tangible factors. A similar dynamic is at play as your software development teams interpret what the business needs into what the newly developed software actually does. This can be both costly and disruptive to the business, its customers, and its partners. Furthermore, this technical interpretation is both unnecessary and avoidable with the use of proven software development techniques. The solution is a key investment.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vaughn Vernon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaughn-vernon/one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-business-software-development/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaughn-vernon/one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-business-software-development/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/vaughn-vernon-42097_business_one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-busine_1278533.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/vaughn-vernon-42097_business_one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-busine_1278533.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1be/vaughn-vernon-42097_business_one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-busine_1278533.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the worst disconnects of a business software development effort is seen in the gap between domain…” — Vaughn Vernon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Vaughn Vernon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaughn-vernon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“One of the worst disconnects of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaughn-vernon/one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-business-software-development/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaughn-vernon/one-of-the-worst-disconnects-of-a-business-software-development/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```