I've never worked at Microsoft, and I know little about their work environment for developers. Can others here elaborate on why Joel Spolsky has such high praise for them beyond the 12/12 Joel Test score? What lessons can other teams take from Microsoft's mastery of developer work environments?
EDIT: I would add that I strongly agree with the need for quiet and concentration as a developer. The worst place I ever worked at had a constant barrage of meetings throughout the workday and a very noisy distraction-heavy open floor plan.
EDIT: I would add that I strongly agree with the need for quiet and concentration as a developer. The worst place I ever worked at had a constant barrage of meetings throughout the workday and a very noisy distraction-heavy open floor plan.