
Ask HN: Are there any studies about engineering productivity and office layout? - squidc916
My office is in the midst of a complete redesign.<p>An open design is a foregone conclusion, but I&#x27;m concerned about where they&#x27;re placing the different teams. Engineering being placed in a high traffic central location, with sales off in a nook.<p>My theory is that engineering needs to be isolated as much as possible so as to reduce distraction.<p>Are there any studies&#x2F;research&#x2F;blogs&#x2F;papers available on the topic of office layout that either support, or contradict me? I&#x27;d like to present my opinion to the people responsible for these decisions in my office, and would like data to back me up if at all possible.
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brudgers
To the degree that such studies exist, the weight they typically carry is more
or less consistent with the proposed use here: to rationalize a decision
already made. An evidence based approach to architectural decisions is
expensive because each organization a unique combination of staff, facilities,
mission, and culture...and hence requires project specific identification of
stakeholders, analysis of processes, and clear definition of desired outcome.
More typical is fitting N staff in M square meters for Y dollars in Z months
based on the opinions of the executive team with consideration of input from
others from whom it is solicited...if anyone.

Good luck.

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rishirishi
I found this opinion piece insightful: [https://medium.com/@ummerr/youre-
working-in-the-wrong-place-...](https://medium.com/@ummerr/youre-working-in-
the-wrong-place-e289036ee01c)

I believe a solution could be the combination of:

a) Open-office space with pods of desks that groups can flock to when
collaboration is required. Noise is welcome.

b) Library space where conversations are prohibited. Complete silence.

c) Closed-door offices that are large enough to house a team and a whiteboard.

Designing and building desired office spaces does not come cheap. But, that
should be weighed against the productivity upside.

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stevesearer
I think the offices of zeb offer a lot of the zoning referenced here and would
be of interest to you: [https://officesnapshots.com/2016/10/26/zeb-offices-
munich/](https://officesnapshots.com/2016/10/26/zeb-offices-munich/)

>The resulting workplace concept developed by Evolution Design is an activity-
based work environment that divided the office into four separate zones, each
with its own function:

>There is a library-style Quiet Area for activities that require focus and
concentration. Another area is the Homezone, which incorporates all permanent
workstations for secretarial staff, as well as individual offices, which can
be used by all zeb employees. The Meet & Exchange zone provides space for
meetings and videoconferences and also includes spaces for team project work
and phone booths for calls requiring privacy. And finally, the Smart Connect
zone, which is a multi-functional area, suitable for a wide range of
activities: here employees can meet, collaborate, exchange ideas, work, or
simply have a coffee in a relaxed atmosphere.

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captain_perl
You're fighting against the CFO's excel that says it's a nickel cheaper to go
open plan wrt construction costs. Game over.

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andrei_says_
I suspect it’s more than a nickel and combined with the fact that the decision
makers most likely

* have their own offices

* are less likely to engage in deep work

The decision is an easy one.

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js2
This article (Jan 2014) has many references:

[https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-open-
office-...](https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-open-office-trap)

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stevesearer
Unfortunately I don't know of any workplace research that focuses specifically
on engineering. This article from Quartz has some information that you may
find interesting/useful: [https://qz.com/806583/programmers-hate-open-floor-
plans/](https://qz.com/806583/programmers-hate-open-floor-plans/)

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quantummech
The classic book ‘Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams’ covers office
layout from productivity perspective:
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321934113/ref=dp_ob_neva_mob...](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0321934113/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile)

