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> You might overhear things that are also relevant for you. The key word is might. I remember a similar HN discussion a few months back someone mentioned that
by frostmatthew 11y ago
> You might overhear things that are also relevant for you.
The key word is might. I remember a similar HN discussion a few months back someone mentioned that because they happened to overhear a conversation between two engineers they were able to save weeks of them working on the wrong thing.
Anecdotes like that aren't signs that open offices are successful or result in "having good communication" - it means you have horrible communication and you got lucky. What if that conversation happened while the person who serendipitously overheard it was in the bathroom? Or on vacation? Or in a meeting? Or wearing headphones? Good communication means not relying on chance to prevent engineers from wasting their time.
- koonsolo 11y agoYou are correct, but how many companies you worked for had 'good' communication? I worked for 5 companies, and have been outsourced to an extra 2. Communication is a real issue in companies, and the ones that already get this partly right will win over those who don't get it right. Like I said, it is possible to get communication right without having an open office plan. But at least with an open office plan, you have the bare minimum set up. And for big companies, the bare minimum is already better than average. The same for small companies. If you are with 5 to 10 people, not everything will be officially communicated through email. You know stuff because it happened in the same room as everyone is sitting in.