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Couldn't agree more. What people complain about is not necessarily an indication of what's not working. My last two gigs have been open-plan, and I prefer it m

Couldn't agree more. What people complain about is not necessarily an indication of what's not working. My last two gigs have been open-plan, and I prefer it much more than closed-cube spaces. If your team is working as it should, and is in close proximity to project/product management, with a good process and a healthy level of trust between the stakeholders and between the various engineers, then in my experience open-plan is far better, because the quality of communication is high, the general focus of the team is high, and there's less background noise "distraction", because the cross-talk is usually relevant and on-task, and has a higher likelihood of being pertinent to the job at hand. Open plan offices work well when the team is already working well. However, if there's broken processes, unfocussed coworkers, and a general level of distrust between team members or across teams, then the background chatter becomes exponentially more distracting and frustrating. Unfortunately most teams tend towards the latter and not the former. In other words -- in my limited, anecdotal experience (last 5 years, two large open-plan teams; 10 years before that in closed or hybrid), high-functioning teams tend to thrive on the cross-talk and constant communication that open plan creates organically. Lower-functioning teams on the other hand have done better when the natural barriers of walls and closed doors limit unnecessary distractions and create healthier boundaries. So it's not surprising to me that the study shows more instances of teams unhappy with open plans; it's certainly not for everybody. But the best teams I've been on have absolutely thrived in that environment.

geoka9 13y ago
> high-functioning teams tend to thrive on the cross-talk and constant communication that open plan creates organically. I wonder how programmers in such environments can get in the "zone" and stay in it for extended periods of time, if they are being "constantly communicated with".
- uxp 13y ago
  I'm in a team that benefits from an open space and frequent chair swivel initiated conversations. Thankfully my chair has wheels and my laptop a headphone jack because it's not terribly difficult to go sit in a corner.
- pacaro 13y ago
  This is a key question. Also everyone considers two alternatives, open and cube, forgetting that individual offices is also an option
- davesims 13y ago
  I'm ADD to the core, and I find it actually easier to zone out and code with a low-level background noise, "coffee-shop" style. Large spikes in noise are a problem, and also non-relevant conversations that pull everyone's attention off-task, but on the open teams I've been on, in general this has been the exception not the rule. My experience at large tables has been that good coders and PMs will actually IM a developer when they need to ask a question -- I do this all the time even when I'm sitting 2 feet from the guy I need to talk to: "let me know when you have a sec to talk about X", etc. Again, that's evidence of a team that's generally on-task and communicating well -- a cultural quality that is itself harder to find than not.
  - dyno12345 13y ago
    I prefer instant messaging to start a conversation... it's asynchronous. You can ignore it for a little while if you need just a couple minutes more of flow state
  - wpeterson 13y ago
    This has worked well for our teams. As a social norm of software development I always IM/email someone with their headphones on and don't interrupt them. It's also a nice courtesy to IM someone before dropping by their desk so they aren't surprised and you can check if it's a bad time.
- tbrownaw 13y ago
  Don't try to think large complicated thoughts in your head, think them written down on paper. Typing doesn't work as well (as far as I can see), I would guess that a large enough tablet with a stylus would work better. This will increase your capacity for involved/interesting ideas, make recovering from interruptions faster, and slow you down slightly (but not enough to completely offset the benefits).
flomo 13y ago
In my experience, exactly the opposite can happen and open-plan offices can discourage a lot of that cross-talk and casual discussion. The last two I've worked in had an almost library-like atmosphere. In a quiet environment, people tend to be discouraged from being the only ones talking and being listened in on, and instead scurry off into the meeting rooms or manager offices. Others put on the headphones and go totally 'heads-down'. Communications end up being more closed and 'formal'.
rhizome 13y ago
Step 1: Get your team working "as it should."
ams6110 13y ago
I don't see much difference between open plan and high-walled cubes in a large room. Noise and distractions are about the same. I think if you're going to talk about private space vs. open you have to be talking about real offices with walls from floor to ceiling, doors that close, and which are (reasonably) soundproof.
- davesims 13y ago
  Sorry, should have changed that to "offices", not cubes. Haven't spent much time at all in cubes, and the couple of months I did it was the WORST of all worlds.
- VLM 13y ago
  "Noise and distractions are about the same" I found interrupt rate increased for open plan by, oh, probably a factor of ten. Look, VLM isn't talking, therefore he must not be doing anything, lets ask him about last nights TV episode. If the cube wall is high enough that you can't see if the worker drone is in there much less on the phone (aka working) or actually working as in thinking, then you don't just yell at the guy across the room. I notice a massive impedance bump between the "knowledge workers" and the "talkers". Engineering and Finance and operations got along nearly perfectly because both know that not talking does not mean not working aka ready for interrupt please bug me. On the other hand management / customer service / sales, if they're not talking they're not working, so interrupt rate was horrible from those types, hmm I have a problem and those three are talking about football so they're busy, and that guy's talking to his wife on the phone so he's busy, I know I'll bug that guy looking at a component datasheet, obviously he's the only one here not doing anything. Marketing types were kind of in between, some understand that thinking is work, some don't.

geoka9 13y ago

> high-functioning teams tend to thrive on the cross-talk and constant communication that open plan creates organically. I wonder how programmers in such environments can get in the "zone" and stay in it for extended periods of time, if they are being "constantly communicated with".

uxp 13y ago
I'm in a team that benefits from an open space and frequent chair swivel initiated conversations. Thankfully my chair has wheels and my laptop a headphone jack because it's not terribly difficult to go sit in a corner.
pacaro 13y ago
This is a key question. Also everyone considers two alternatives, open and cube, forgetting that individual offices is also an option
davesims 13y ago
I'm ADD to the core, and I find it actually easier to zone out and code with a low-level background noise, "coffee-shop" style. Large spikes in noise are a problem, and also non-relevant conversations that pull everyone's attention off-task, but on the open teams I've been on, in general this has been the exception not the rule. My experience at large tables has been that good coders and PMs will actually IM a developer when they need to ask a question -- I do this all the time even when I'm sitting 2 feet from the guy I need to talk to: "let me know when you have a sec to talk about X", etc. Again, that's evidence of a team that's generally on-task and communicating well -- a cultural quality that is itself harder to find than not.
- dyno12345 13y ago
  I prefer instant messaging to start a conversation... it's asynchronous. You can ignore it for a little while if you need just a couple minutes more of flow state
- wpeterson 13y ago
  This has worked well for our teams. As a social norm of software development I always IM/email someone with their headphones on and don't interrupt them. It's also a nice courtesy to IM someone before dropping by their desk so they aren't surprised and you can check if it's a bad time.
tbrownaw 13y ago
Don't try to think large complicated thoughts in your head, think them written down on paper. Typing doesn't work as well (as far as I can see), I would guess that a large enough tablet with a stylus would work better. This will increase your capacity for involved/interesting ideas, make recovering from interruptions faster, and slow you down slightly (but not enough to completely offset the benefits).

flomo 13y ago

In my experience, exactly the opposite can happen and open-plan offices can discourage a lot of that cross-talk and casual discussion. The last two I've worked in had an almost library-like atmosphere. In a quiet environment, people tend to be discouraged from being the only ones talking and being listened in on, and instead scurry off into the meeting rooms or manager offices. Others put on the headphones and go totally 'heads-down'. Communications end up being more closed and 'formal'.

rhizome 13y ago

Step 1: Get your team working "as it should."

ams6110 13y ago

I don't see much difference between open plan and high-walled cubes in a large room. Noise and distractions are about the same. I think if you're going to talk about private space vs. open you have to be talking about real offices with walls from floor to ceiling, doors that close, and which are (reasonably) soundproof.

davesims 13y ago
Sorry, should have changed that to "offices", not cubes. Haven't spent much time at all in cubes, and the couple of months I did it was the WORST of all worlds.
VLM 13y ago
"Noise and distractions are about the same" I found interrupt rate increased for open plan by, oh, probably a factor of ten. Look, VLM isn't talking, therefore he must not be doing anything, lets ask him about last nights TV episode. If the cube wall is high enough that you can't see if the worker drone is in there much less on the phone (aka working) or actually working as in thinking, then you don't just yell at the guy across the room. I notice a massive impedance bump between the "knowledge workers" and the "talkers". Engineering and Finance and operations got along nearly perfectly because both know that not talking does not mean not working aka ready for interrupt please bug me. On the other hand management / customer service / sales, if they're not talking they're not working, so interrupt rate was horrible from those types, hmm I have a problem and those three are talking about football so they're busy, and that guy's talking to his wife on the phone so he's busy, I know I'll bug that guy looking at a component datasheet, obviously he's the only one here not doing anything. Marketing types were kind of in between, some understand that thinking is work, some don't.