I see that a lot too. There are a lot of well-paid managers whose only role is to be middlemen between engineers, customers and other departments and they prote

I see that a lot too. There are a lot of well-paid managers whose only role is to be middlemen between engineers, customers and other departments and they protect that role jealously. I agree that some developer probably shouldn't be talking to customers but overall they should. I have had many occasions where we received a spec and after discussion with users quickly saw how we could meet their needs in a much simpler way than the middlemen had come up with.