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> high-functioning teams tend to thrive on the cross-talk and constant communication that open plan creates organically. I wonder how programmers in such envir

by 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).

by geoka9 13y ago

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).