Open-plan offices: programmer said NO-programmer, code monkey, open Office-IT information Open-plan offices: programmers say NO

Last year, I visited the offices of Adobe is located in the Bay area. Their Office is so exaggerated, is full of really cool stuff, has a basketball court on the roof, windmill, and designer salons. But when they show their open-cooperation Office, I don't think this is where I want to work.

I have had different work experiences, at one point, first day on the job, Director of the Office sends me a table, which lists the need for job-related information. Both concise and organise the information in the table. But I found this form is sent to Roger Smith.

"Do you have what it takes? "The officer asks me.

I said, "my name is Roger. ”

"Oh ..." she was a little overwhelmed, "... Hmm ... That your name is? ”

Then I took the writing cards Roger, and Roger is my nickname. The joke soon spread, and I became the company's celebrity. I sometimes jokingly claimed to Roger Smith.

A few years later I married my wonderful wife (she is now a mother of two). She sometimes called me when I am working, but I hurry, she couldn't understand why I would be "angry". I was working like a new man, with completely different at home. So she refers to the work by Roger I. When she couldn't understand why I was very gentle, and calling at work but I think I'm strange. She does not like Roger. For years, many programmers and I discussed, many people have similar problems. We're not really angry, we're immersed in programming, unable to extricate themselves.

The people in this book spends a lot of time explaining the so-called "State" (Note: The Flow). In that efficient working in the State, you can write a lot of code at once. Time unconsciously goes. This is great. This state of high efficiency must be protected. This is not the original concept of the people, even in the movie the social network often have scenes like this: when people concentrate on work, didn't want to be disturbed.

Enter the State typically takes at least 15 minutes. If you are writing programs, within 15 minutes, you have to remember that what you write, then reconstruction algorithms and data structures in the brain. After you see programs available look and appearance. You are not aware of what is happening around ... When the phone rings.

"Hello?" (The algorithm seems to have a memory leak). Well, baby, I came home went to buy that. (A pointer to a pointer to a pointer, who write junk code) ... I ... Today ... Was OK ... (Come on, as if I wrote it myself ... Must have been on the phone to write it). ”

So, if you phone him at a time when programmers wrote programs, or without warning descended in advance, you ought not to wonder why he doesn't, because he was still indulge in the world of code. In other words, if they are interrupted every 15 minutes or so, they will never be able to enter into efficient working condition.

So have a few cents to do it with open Office? If I got to face up to the desk of a busy corridor, people walked up and down around me, I couldn't work. (No explanation, this is freaking me out. ) Whenever someone walk by, I always look up at the door. That was enough to interrupt my status. But I had to put a bookcase in a desk in my line of sight, it makes me look a little aloof, but at least I can work properly.

▲ Look from my desk, wood

Open-plan offices that employees might lose control over their workplace. They can no longer avoid disturbing, unable to keep working. For them, coming and going, loud conversations, and so on is like bombing. Cooperation Yes, but has a separate Office does not affect cooperation. Anyone can come to my Office to talk about things, so as not to bother other people. Assistance Office will only reduce my productivity. Open-plan offices are trying to solve a problem that does not exist, and give people more worse.