Open office plans for software developers is like the worst thing ever, unless your culture is one where people are quiet and put their headphones in and get to

Open office plans for software developers is like the worst thing ever, unless your culture is one where people are quiet and put their headphones in and get to work. I had that experience at one company, but others were a total mess. A software developer needs at least a good 3-4 hour block of uninterruption to produce something valuable. Context switching and distractions are a productivity killer when it comes to building software. At one company, we would have upper management come into our shared office (5 desks) where we had 3 developers working, and they would have their personal and business calls right next to us. Total disregard for people's personal space, peace of mind, and work environment. For shared open offices to work, you need a strong culture and understanding that unless you are to be quiet and work on your tasks, you need to get out of the shared office and go discuss group matters in a conference room.