[mikevm]

> 1. Open plan makes it easier to ask questions. Those are "disruptions", yes, but what the Cornell study found is that in open plan it's actually easier to "read" a person and see if it's an OK time to ask a question, and to quickly reply or say ask me later, and so forth, to efficiently manage those disruptions.

So just for the off-chance that someone could ask me a question, I have force myself to wear headphones every day just to get any work done? What the fuck? Maybe most people are not like me, and are not distracted by the moving, talking and noise making of other people around them -- but I am. I need as much silence as I can get.

What is absurd about this is that some companies make special "quiet zones" for people to go to and think, which means they implicitly admit that the actual work environment is not conductive to thinking.

You want to ask me a question? Send me an IM.

[Joeri]

In our company we combined the two, the developers sit in a large open floor plan which is a quiet zone, and to discuss something you go into a meeting room. The quiet zone is enforced through social pressure, a bit like a library reading room, except less perfectly quiet (people still periodically interrupt the silence). The result is a lack of team dynamics because people don't talk enough, AND a lack of personal productivity, because there are still enough distractions that you can't work for long uninterrupted stretches.

I've become convinced the best solution is the one from peopleware: 2 to 4 people offices, with a door.

[abalone]

People are generally a lot less likely to ask questions over IM. The Cornell study found a couple of things of note here:

1. Being able to "read" someone visually helps in determining whether it's an ok time to interrupt. "Unexpectedly.. more visual contact actually contributes to fewer unwanted interactions, not more, by changing not so much the frequency as the timing of conversations."

2. More frequent social interaction builds more trust. People felt more comfortable asking for help.

3. A lot of information is acquired through something called "tacit learning". That's info that's never written down that you pick up by observing others. You may not even know to ask about it or have an opportunity. Open plan greatly helps the spread of this.

4. Most damningly, it notes that self-interested developers are biased towards individual productivity more than team productivity. This often leads them to undervalue the benefits of "disruptions".

[mikevm]

> 1. Being able to "read" someone visually helps in determining whether it's an ok time to interrupt. "Unexpectedly.. more visual contact actually contributes to fewer unwanted interactions, not more, by changing not so much the frequency as the timing of conversations."

I don't mind being interrupted by someone who wants to ask me a question. The explicit interruptions are not what makes the open office a painful experience -- it's the background noise that comes with it. This is why many people work with headphones on. You shouldn't be listening to music just because you need to concentrate on your work.

> 2. More frequent social interaction builds more trust. People felt more comfortable asking for help.

Surely you could think of better ways to build trust between team members other than sitting everyone in an open space?

> 3. A lot of information is acquired through something called "tacit learning". That's info that's never written down that you pick up by observing others. You may not even know to ask about it or have an opportunity. Open plan greatly helps the spread of this.

I don't want to be observed while working. I'm not a lab rat.

[abalone]

The point is, people may not know that you don't mind. Seeing someone's face makes it easier to "read" someone and manage the timing of their interrupt. Not the case with IMs, doors and cubes. This is one reason why the bar for "frequent communication" plummets in closed plan offices.

As for not wanting to be observed.. of course you don't. It's not in your self interest. But it is in the interest of team productivity to promote tacit learning. Let other people more readily learn how to do what you do, your tips & tricks, the little things not written down and formally taught.

[waterlesscloud]

Calling me "self-interested" because I want an environment that makes me the most productive is not winning me over.

[abalone]

It is if it's at the detriment of overall team productivity.

Typically the more senior you get, the more important it is for you to allocate time to help others. A place I used to work at codified this. You had to have X percent helping-others time and X grew as you rose in the ranks. That's precisely because of the important of team vs. individual productivity.

[ScottBurson]

> You want to ask me a question? Send me an IM.

This is interesting, actually. Why is being interrupted by IM not as bad? I agree with you, it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem. But why? Is it just that the interaction isn't quite real-time -- I can ignore you for a few minutes if I'm in the middle of something?

Maybe someone should try the combination of private offices and a local chat server, to see if that's the best of both worlds, concentration and collaboration.

[mikevm]

> Is it just that the interaction isn't quite real-time -- I can ignore you for a few minutes if I'm in the middle of something?

That is exactly why.