[Clubber]

Being able to yell across the room while sitting down is more efficient than having to stand up first. Efficient collaberating.

This is a good metric. It's also the only metric we track. Science!

/s

What you are referring to is a "cube farm." Businesses have somehow discovered how to make working conditions worse.

[ThrustVectoring]

Don't forget not having to stand up to wave your hand in my peripheral vision to get my attention for something that the commit messages that introduced the change would have told you about.

I might be a little salty about that one.

[rdiddly]

Ironically, part of the reason for the ascendancy of the open plan, was the popular negative reaction against cubicles. Cubicles were so Dilbert, so 80s/90s IBM/Microsoft/Intel, so "Office Space." OK, maybe they didn't capture the imagination of every special unique snowflake who would've rather been extreme kite-para-heli-wind-surf-skiing. But at least it was a wall. At least it was a space.

[Clubber]

The best method (for maximum sustained productivity) I've experienced is 2 developers to an office. For me, it's actually best if the developers aren't on the same team so they won't often interrupt each other. Either way is better than a cube farm and certainly open office. It's significantly cheaper than an office per developer, but nearly as good.

It's great to collaborate and all, but that should be done at a scheduled time in a scheduled place.

The negatives of open space is why libraries have a STFU rule.

[nsxwolf]

I've had that arrangement before too, and it wasn't bad.