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Yes. and IBM had precisely the problems another poster points out that caved in offices cause[0]: people had no idea what others were doing and it led to some p
by anologwintermut 13y ago
Yes. and IBM had precisely the problems another poster points out that caved in offices cause[0]: people had no idea what others were doing and it led to some problems. Which is fine if you're IBM,make mainframes, and run you company vaguely like the military. But good luck adapting quickly if you have that management style.
There is a reason open plan offices happen: it's not just a cost cutting measure, it's a management style decision as well. Sure, it might be the wrong decision, but there is a reason to it and it's not just screw the code monkeys to cut costs idea people are suggesting. It's a value judgement that dev's personal comfort and productive is not the sole or primary concern of the company and that the company is better served with more communication instead of productivity. The value judgment seems correct: companies make money from good products, not from merely producing code. However, it's not clear the communication is worth more than the added productivity.
[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6450733 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6450733
- thecage41 13y agoThis is a good post, but I'd make one additional point. Devs are often measured/reviewed based on productivity, so it's not surprising there is pushback on a decision that diminishes their productivity.
- HarryHirsch 13y agoThere is ample research on how to facilitate interaction between individuals and/or teams, and that is via meeting rooms, tea kitchens and shared common space. It is a solved problem. Of course getting a building with such facilities is expensive, you need to spend both for the building itself and for the architect who designs it. Yet management pushes open-plan offices to facilitate communication. It's either out of ignorance, or it's wilful, to save cash.
- smrtinsert 13y agoMeetings, yes we need more meetings, thats the answer!
- anologwintermut 13y agoI swear that was the approach Microsoft took to not having an open plan office.
- mixmastamyk 13y agoOk. Just because you have a private micro-office, doesn't mean the team doesn't need to communicate regularly, e.g., agile-standups.
- Karunamon 13y agoOr IM or email. There are very few things that are so important that they literally require everyone to drop whatever they're working on for 30+ minutes at a time.
- tensor 13y agoOne person's anecdote does not make good evidence. Business decisions need to be based on real data, not anecdote, or worse, arrogance from people who think they know a lot more than they do.
- anologwintermut 13y agoI wasn't saying it was good evidence. I was saying it suggested the rational behind the decision and it wasn't cost cutting.