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The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies

nathanmarz.com

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Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies

#131

Post by Infinitesimus »

"The primary task of a programmer is writing code, which involves sitting at a desk and thinking and typing"

Lost me there. The primary task of a (good) programmer is to solve problems with code, that may involve 70% planning and design and 30% for some.

Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies

#132

Post by mgkimsal »

jodrellblank wrote: post #61

Has anyone studied open plan offices and choice of programming language? Does an environment with a high chance of interruption lead to languages where you have to write a lot to do a small task, because you can write simple code between interruptions, and over time get enough code to do the task - and if you get interrupted well you only lose one minute's thinking. Contrast with a powerful language where you need ha…

Interesting question. Not sure we'll ever be able to determine an answer - I think there's too many variables at play, but it probably makes a difference for some people. I'm thinking here of something like "PHP is easier to work with in situations where there's more regular interruptions, because you can write smaller/simpler chunked code, whereas C# is easier to work with in situations with private/isolated offices with regularly scheduled collaboration". That's sort of where you're going, right? (Swap php/c# with whatever your theory is - those were random choices on my part).

Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies

#133

Post by jemfinch »

> Establish a culture that encourages employees to work from home as much as they want. They should really understand that face time is completely irrelevant. Then, measure how many people come in each day.

As someone who works in an open floor plan (and basically hates it) this proposal only works when your workforce is younger. No matter how unproductive the office gets for me, it's going to be more productive than staying home with three munchkins running around.

Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies

#134

Post by nbouscal »

JetSetWilly wrote: post #57

I've noticed lots of programmers make unsupported assertions that a quiet workplace is better than a noisy one. But why? Have there been any studies demonstrating higher productivity if programmers have their own office? I don't think so. We should be suspicious of such claims. Think of von Neumann: At Princeton he received complaints for regularly playing extremely loud German marching music on his gramophone, which…

Say it is purely personal preference: 50% of people can work well in open offices, and 50% of people cannot. Even if that were the case (which I highly doubt), that would still be a solid argument for closed offices. Why? Because while people who can work well in open offices can easily adjust their closed office to suit their temperament (e.g. by blaring loud German marching music), people who cannot work well in open offices have no recourse. Headphones are the recommended strategy, but in my experience they still lead to a decrease in productivity and are generally uncomfortable when worn for an entire day. Further, they do not block out the visual distractions of people walking back and forth, etc. They also do nothing for the feeling of lack of privacy, which for me personally is one of the most egregious aspects of an open plan office.

I think that among programmers especially, the proportion of people who cannot work at peak productivity in an open plan office is much higher than 50%, but even if it were only 30% that would still be a strong argument for closed offices.

Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies

#137

Post by tonetheman »

abalone wrote: post #10

Suffers from the same flaw as most critiques of open plan: it focuses on individual productivity while failing to understand how it contributes to team productivity. Cornell did a study of open plan awhile back that you should all read. I posted it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7507404 The misunderstanding here is that it's just about serendipitously "overhearing" other conversations. 1. Open plan makes…

WhatI have found is that open environments are great for managers and planners. Those who code do not get more productive in noisy environments.

I immensely dislike open work areas. I do not know many coders who like them either.

The people who benefit the most are the headphone makers. :)

Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies

#138

Post by logfromblammo »

pekk wrote: post #32
abalone wrote: post #10

Suffers from the same flaw as most critiques of open plan: it focuses on individual productivity while failing to understand how it contributes to team productivity. Cornell did a study of open plan awhile back that you should all read. I posted it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7507404 The misunderstanding here is that it's just about serendipitously "overhearing" other conversations. 1. Open plan makes…

Wow. You think that time I spend coding features you asked for is not helping you? Then at the end of the week, I am still giving an accounting of why a feature isn't finished on a schedule given by the same people who were interrupting the work I was doing to satisfy their stated priorities. I'm amazed at how you totally ignore that this makes people miserable and contributes to bad management. Why not learn to use…

Or better yet, an internal board or wiki, so the same question does not get asked repeatedly.

Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies

#139

Post by sutterbomb »

calibraxis wrote: post #108
crusso wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you actually ask everyone Yeah, I did communicate with people about the efficacy of the working environment. Plus, for the past 12 years or so, everyone I've worked with has had a laptop that they could always (and did at times) take to quiet places when they needed alone time. They self-identified as needing quiet. Most others self-identified as liking the more collaborative working spaces. I'm one of them If yo…

Maybe I'm misreading, but that sounds like a questionable response to someone critiquing managerial blindspots. Shows blindness to corporate power structure. Also perhaps lack of understanding why people really take jobs. (One of the things bosses accept is that their subordinates lie to them. For instance, this is a driving force behind bad estimates.) (I don't have a firm opinion on open vs. private offices, except…

In my experience, it's not accurate to say outright lying is a driving force behind bad estimates. Estimates are actually a difficult problem. "Padding" an estimate is not a lie, it's a tool to be more accurate in the aggregate, because it helps account for the 1 in X instances where a task is significantly more time-consuming than you ever could have reliably estimated.

Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies

#140

Post by zaidf »

abalone wrote: post #10

Suffers from the same flaw as most critiques of open plan: it focuses on individual productivity while failing to understand how it contributes to team productivity. Cornell did a study of open plan awhile back that you should all read. I posted it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7507404 The misunderstanding here is that it's just about serendipitously "overhearing" other conversations. 1. Open plan makes…

I'm much more likely to ask questions on IM than face to face. The latter not only interrupts the person I am asking the question, but also interrupts my own flow.

May be just me.

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