A few years back I was working in an open office setting at a games studio and I got in a discussion with the branch manager about it. He was convinced that open office was a productivity multiplier. I asked him who he thought the most productive developers were on the team. When he gave me names, I pointed out that every one of them were wearing big noise-canceling headphones to block out the collaboration he thought he was fostering. My solution was different, I usually got in at 6am when almost no one else came in before the 10am standup. I would get most of my work done by then and then circulate and help the kids as needed.
To be fair, it did seem like the artists did get some benefit, but it was definitely a net negative for most of the developers.
I’ve been in private offices, and cubes, and open office, and honestly the most productive environment was when I was in a set of cubicles that had sliding doors, around a bullpen with multiple tables. When you needed to go head-down to get some code down you could, but otherwise you hung out at the tables in the middle.
To be fair, it did seem like the artists did get some benefit, but it was definitely a net negative for most of the developers.
I’ve been in private offices, and cubes, and open office, and honestly the most productive environment was when I was in a set of cubicles that had sliding doors, around a bullpen with multiple tables. When you needed to go head-down to get some code down you could, but otherwise you hung out at the tables in the middle.