Workplaces that work? Do you have examples to share?

[Andrew Webster]

Hi coaches!

I have a request.

We all know that cubicles and open plan utterly suck. 

But what actually works? 

I know I have my own opinion about that, and a couple of great examples, but I'm looking for other folks' on-the-ground examples, case studies, and evidence.  Do you know of a workplace that either was built specifically or remodeled specifically to improve folk's work (and experience of work) and that actually did!  How was it arranged?  How did the folks know that their work was better because of the space?  In what way was it better?

Can you share any examples here with us all please!

Much appreciated in advance,

 - Andrew Webster (Agile Coach and High Priest at the Altar of Alt.Agile)

[Mark Levison]

Andrew - Welcome. I've not seen any traffic on this list in a few years. Many went to a list called LCS - Lonely Coaches Sodality :-).

In the meantime you might help in:

https://agilepainrelief.com/leadership-resources-and-references#open-offices

https://agilepainrelief.com/scrummaster-resources-and-references#team-rooms

I'm sure there are good quality resources I missed - when you find them please tell me. I'm building the world's largest opinionated Agile library.

Cheers

Mark

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[George Dinwiddie]

Have you looked at reports of the Caves and Commons pattern?

I've seen teams thrive in a common room. This is different from an open
plan that includes people working on other things. They sat around a big
common table where they could communicate freely. They knew their work
was better because they collaborated and got stuff done.

- George

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[Mark Levison]

George as usual you rock. Do you have any good sources I could reference on Caves and Commons? Blog posts? Articles? ...

Cheers

Mark

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[Andrew Webster]

Mark, George, thank you for getting back to me so quick.  I'm a little surprised that the Google Groups box still rattles when I give it a shake, but I'm very glad I did!

If I find any more sources, I'll post them here.  Knowing what doesn't work, and giving that up, definitely makes room for doing something that does work.  But that's a lot harder if no-one's got any guidance for the "does work" bit!  If a client is willing to think through an office re-fit, I'd like to show them that it's worth before they spend a small fortune.

Thanks again,

- Andrew

[Andrew Webster]

George,

I just realized that I had Caves and Commons under my nose already.  It's Stewart Brand's original idea in "How Building's Learn", one of my favorite all time books.  I'm even a member of The Long Now Foundation, so you'd have thought I'd have had him come to mind.

So thanks for pointing me that way!  I'll be re-reading the whole book now, it's too good not to!

 - Andrew

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[Andrew Webster]

I think back with fondness to that point in my career when I was told that it was wildly irresponsible to coach alone.  Always work in pairs.  Yeah… I’ve never quite managed to sell that one to clients.  I’ve just joined the LCS because.  Just because.

 

Anyhow, your first list  - yeah.  Found all that.  Us humans are much better at identifying the problems than the solutions.  But the second list, now, that is interesting, and thanks so much for gathering it up.  I’ll keep poking around and if I find more, I’ll scoot it over to you.

 

Here’s to being opinionated.  It’s a super-power, let’s use it for good!

 

• Andrew

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[Tim Ottinger]

I have seen people who think open spaces rock, and people declaring them “the worst possible layout.”

Some people like offices (find them “essential”) and others hate them.

I met people who liked their cubicles, while most find them soulless and dehumanizing.

Most collocated teams like sitting in “pods” but some don’t.

I have a theory rather than a great design.

My theory begins “it depends.” It only becomes interested when we get to “depends on what”.

So, there is information in every space. Visual, audible, olfactory, etc. 

Some of that space is on your screen when you’re working at the computer.

Some is posters, drawings, whiteboards.

Some is discussion happening nearby.

Some is via information radiators. 

But there’s a lot of information usually.

If you take away the information, then it’s harder to be both focused and aware. Starved of information, we will be less productive and do less valuable work. Think of being the one remote person trying to keep up on the changes to a project and the culture of your org without email/slack/etc. Or the dev org without customer feedback. Information matters.

That’s half the picture. The other is noise. 

Noise is just information that isn’t relevant to the work you’re trying to do or the group in which you’re maintaining membership.

Signal:Noise. Yep, that old chestnut.

But here you go: if you’re in an open space, and you’re sitting among people who are not part of your taskload, who don’t share your goals and outcomes, then being there in all the noise is unsatisfactory. 

Likewise, if people are in groups, but you sit in a group that isn’t your group, S:N sucks.

Being in an office or cubicle isn’t so bad (and can be beloved) if you do solo work most of the time, and your tasks are pretty well isolated from that of all the other people in the space. But if you’re positively interdependent with other people, then walls and doors just get in the way. 

This suggests something obvious: form should follow function; as you work, so should you sit. 

There is one other thing: you need a place for your humanity too: pictures of the family and pets, photos from your favorite vacations, posters from concerts, mementos of good times. Because you’re a human. In an impersonal space, one can feel detached from their non-work life. That kind of dis-integration is not all that healthy for most people. 

Long post, I know.

But I believe these things.

And so I don’t tell anyone what the “right” arrangement is. 

Peace,

Tim

--

Tim Ottinger, Anzeneer, Industrial Logic
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http://www.industriallogic.com/
http://agileotter.blogspot.com/

[Andrew Webster]

Thanks Tim, that’s a thoughtful post, and hit the spot.  If it feels like I should have known it, if it feels like “Duh!” then it’s probably a first principle, or a heuristic that’s close enough to a first principle to make no difference. 

 

Signal to Noise, of course!  Thanks!

 

• Andrew

 

From: agile-coach...@googlegroups.com <agile-coach...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Tim Ottinger
Sent: Saturday, March 9, 2019 5:48 AM
To: agile-coach...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [ACS] Workplaces that work? Do you have examples to share?

 

I have seen people who think open spaces rock, and people declaring them “the worst possible layout.”

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