Guidelines for open office layouts

Guidelines for Open Office Layouts
By Ed Kraay

The situation
84% of companies surveyed claim using some Agile practices*
Open office formats used to enjoy low cost or free communication – aka “Osmotic Communication”
With more firms “going Agile” more managers are tasked with making open space team rooms work
Common questions we get:
How much space do I really need?
What configuration will optimize communication for my team?
How much power do I need? How many whiteboards? What about private space? Do I get tables or use desks….
*Source 2009 State of Agile Survey Version One

Common problems with open space moves
Moving from cubicles to an open space often results in:
Cramped conditions
Not enough power or network
No space for design sessions
Cross team noise (bad noise) vs Team noise (good noise)
No private space for phone calls
Barriers to flow
Fixed configurations with no room to adapt

Two Key Principles to keep in mind
Workspace should never be an obstacle to getting work done
Keep the workspace configurable so you can adapt it to your changing needs

Guidelines: Size and Layout
Space
6 feet by 8 feet per person (enough so they could have had a cubicle)
Privacy for the team
High Walls, Doors Optional
or
Enough space to create separate team areas
Windows
Humans get stressed without access to natural light
One wall, preferably two or three walls with abundant natural light

Working Areas
Freedom
Give teams freedom to adjust their working area to suit them without a work order
Easy to move tables are good
Some organizations even attach wheels to their desks!
Avoid
Fixed to the wall
Installed furniture
Enough room to work together side by side to pair program
Avoid
Corner Desks
Photo by Carlos Villela

Wall Space
Ample wall space for task boards, burndown charts, whiteboards everywhere
Whiteboard paint works very well
Some teams use movable walls for this
Photo by Carlos Villela

Technology
Power
Ample amounts as unobtrusively as possible (in desks, dropped from the ceiling)
Projectors
For video conferences, planning meetings
We see more teams using large screen LCD TV’s for this
Video conferencing and Smart boards for distributed teams
High definition web cameras work well
Large Flat Panel Monitors - two per workstation (>20 inch)

Breakout Rooms
A mix of small quiet areas for private conversations for 2-3 people or phone calls
Larger collaboration rooms for conference calls or planning meetings
Some teams use an open space for this

Table Configurations
Long Tables
U Shapes
Drawing by Dean Cornish
Drawing by Erik Doernenburg

Photos of the ThoughtWorks Bangalore Office…the principles in action.
Notice the open space between desks
Photo by SudhirTiwari

Plentiful access to power and ethernet

Wall space for card walls.

Cube Area for Marketing and Recruiting Team

Meeting Rooms Along interior walls, so desks can be along windows
Photo by Chris Stevenson

= Happy team.
Windows to let in natural light…
Adjustable chairs
+

Enough space so that each person could have had 6’x 8’ to themselves

Another collaborative workspace design
Drawing by AnupamKundu

These are some team room configurations…What's yours?

Summary of the Principles
Workspace should never be an obstacle to getting work done
Keep the workspace configurable so you can adapt it to your changing needs

Appreciations to:
Erik Doerenburg, April Johnson, Sarah Taraporewalla, Daniel T. Abel, Dean Cornish, Peter Gillard-Moss, Benjamin Butler-Cole, AnupamKundu, SudhirTiwari, Chris Stevenson, Rajeev Singh and Johnny Leroy for photos and ideas.

Resources
Books
Agile Software Development by Alistair Cockburn
Peopleware by Demarco and Lister
Links
Martin Fowler on the Team Room: http://martinfowler.com/bliki/TeamRoom.html

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Guidelines for open office layouts

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