Hi eric123,
First of all, I have to say, if you intend to speak in defence of the
cube, you are in trouble. Cubicles are clearly out. There is nothing
good said about them anywhere. Cube-farms are not the way cubicles
were intended to be used by their developers, and their misuse has
caused most offices to exude the warmth of, say, an ice-tray.
However, that said, this does NOT mean a return to enclosed offices is
the answer. Many studies agree that that’s even less-desirable than
cubism. No, the key to today’s high tech work environment is shared
knowledge, collaboration, and the generation of ideas. And to do that,
and open space pod environment is ideal.
Here I’ll focus on the defence of open spaces as opposed to the closed
office environment.
This first article has pretty much everything you need in it. I’ve
read the entire thing. It is well documented, addresses real cases
(mostly focused on scientific research companies, but includes HP) and
explains clearly the need for information flow and worker proximity.
I’ve extracted for you some excerpts from the section on HP
[beginning on page 38]. I strongly urge you to take the time to read
the whole article. There is quite a bit of useful information in it,
including graphs correlating distance between workers and knowledge
flow.
----------------------------
SOCIAL DESIGN
The Link Between Facility Design, Organization Design, and Corporate
Strategy
“ The goal [at HP] was to create an environment where a team could
really be a team, where rich interaction would be the norm, and where
complex projects would be completed in compressed time frames.
“A year later, the 15-person experiment was judged so successful that
a new space for 30 people was developed using the principles validated
from the first experiment.”
“IRL researchers found that the new spaces supported more frequent,
more spontaneous interactions. Perhaps the most significant finding
was that collaborations in the experimental spaces lasted three times
longer and occurred twice as frequently as those in traditional
environments. In addition, the need for team meetings was almost
entirely eliminated.”
SOCIAL DESIGN
The Link Between Facility Design, Organization Design, and Corporate
Strategy
http://www.wdhb.com/fr/publications/socialdesign.pdf
------------------------------
This article lays out some good arguments for the open plan --
OPEN PLAN OR PRIVATE OFFICE?
Derrick Van Mell (May 18, 2000)
The debate in office planning between the benefits and costs of open
plan— workstations” or cubicles—versus private offices could be
simplified. Here’s a checklist of ideas to put things in perspective.
THE CASE FOR OPEN PLAN
http://www.vanmell.com/Articles/OPEN%20PLAN.PDF
And, by the same author –
OFFICE DESIGN & PRODUCTIVITY
Derrick Van Mell (April 26, 2000)
http://www.vanmell.com/Articles/OFFICE%20PRODUCTIVITY.PDF
--------------------
One key use of open space plans is in the field of Knowledge
Management (KM). The sharing of knowledge can be the best argument for
an open space office.
Seven schools of Knowledge Management
“6. The Spatial School
This school centres on the use of space or spatial design to
facilitate knowledge exchange. … Basically, co-presence and
socialisation is used as a means of knowledge exchange and creation.
In other words, the approach seeks to facilitate the creation of
social capital by offering sociable spaces. Examples are provided by
Skandia's Future Centre on the Stockholm Archipelago or the BA head
office British Airways at Waterside near Heathrow Airport.
Seven schools of Knowledge Management
http://www.knowledge-portal.com/knowledge_and_innovation/the_seven_km_schools.htm
“There are a small number of specific examples where KM principles
have been applied to specialised areas, such as Edvinsson's Skandia
Futures Centre, or "Creativity Laboratories" e.g. Hoechst-Celanese,
the UK Post Office Innovation Centre, West London Training and
Enterprise Council Executive Studio, and the Ernst and Young
Accelerated Solution Environment.”
http://www.poolonline.com/archive/issue10/iss10fea5.html
-----------------------------------
One operative phrase that is used in office space management is,
“serendipitous meeting” or “spontaneous interaction.” These are
interactions that occur between people who “accidentally” run into
each other or just find themselves talking casually in an open
workspace. In a creative environment these interactions are paramount
to generating new ideas
Office Trends Impacting Design
“Collaborating teams are often supported by dedicated workrooms,
libraries of shared files and information, visual access to one
another, and informal gathering spaces immediately adjacent to their
usual workspaces.”
“It is important that appropriate uses of technology and work process
are analyzed prior to the development of work space so the most
appropriate tasks and processes are optimized. Proximity to
appropriate work mates and services will facilitate efficient work
process, and often stimulates creative thinking.”
“Serendipitous meetings and conversations are viewed as important to
teamwork and collaboration.”
Office Trends Impacting Design
by Marilyn Farrow, FIIDA
Corporate America Today
http://www.iida.org/organization/forums/office_trends.html
------------------------------
This excerpt from an article describes the positive aspects of a team
environment as it pertains to IT programming partners, but the essence
is exactly what you are looking for.
“Team members find each other much more approachable. They will
struggle with questions or lack of information for less time before
getting themselves out of their chair and going to ask the right
person a question—because now they know that person quite well. The
rapport and trust built between team members gives them the courage to
ask each other for advice and guidance without feeling vulnerable and
insufficient.”
Overcoming Management Resistance to Pair Programming
[scroll to the last section on this page for the above reference]
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:jIcfQXTIO5IC:www.informit.com/isapi/product_id~%257BE5B6D9E7-B572-4BA3-BC63-F16974DF8980%257D/st~822202F4-E865-472D-B32F-BE77D3B7ACE1/content/index.asp+office+design+workstation+environment+collaboration+cubicle&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
----------------------------
“..the project team nature of today’s workplace demands that an
emphasis be placed on connectivity.”
Architecture Matters in the New Economy
Good Design is Good Business: Design Strategies for the New Economy
http://www.archrecord.com/CONTEDUC/ARTICLES/02_01_1a.asp
----------------------------
One of the biggest arguments AGAINST open space environments is the
distraction caused by sound. Telephones can be a major source of sound
distraction. Several companies that I read about have solved that
dilemma by issuing cordless phones to employees and providing a small
sitting area where one can go to the phone privately.
Other fixes can be found here:
Productive Silence
Noise Distraction Affects Employee Satisfaction and Productivity
http://www.ccrllc.com/images/Buildings%20-%20Fred%20Folsom%20article%20-%2005.17.02.pdf
SOUND MASKING - IT'S A MATTER OF BALANCE
A CASE STUDY OF KNIGHT-RIDDER INFORMATION, INC.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA BY PAUL DE GROOT
http://www.lencore.com/soundmasking_knightridder.htm
Related to sound is the speech privacy issue. This too can be solved
by used of portable phones and available private spaces.
“In a survey of seven office buildings during the past two years, as
many as 72% of respondents were dissatisfied with speech privacy in
their workplace.”
Speech Privacy in Offices
http://www.cbe.berkeley.edu/RESEARCH/briefs-acoustics.htm
------------------------------
More information
This article addresses both sides of the story and is rather technical
in nature. Probably more suited to your engineering mind than my
researcher mind.
THE COMPLEX ADAPTIVE WORKPLACE – A THEORETICAL LINK BETWEEN OFFICE
DESIGN AND PRODUCTIVITY?
http://www-mmd.eng.cam.ac.uk/mcn/pdf_files/part5_4.pdf
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF STUDIES LINKING FACILITY DESIGN WITH PROFITABILITY
http://www.ksba.com/research/biblio.pdf
Collaborative Settings
Fostering Teamwork in the Workplace
HERMAN MILLER – WHITE PAPERS
http://www.hmeurope.com/WhitePapers/wp_Collaborative_Settings.pdf
To what extent does workplace design and management affect
productivity?
http://www.officeproductivity.co.uk/nm/publish/opn_19.html
-------------------------------
Ironically, you are fighting the opposite battle than most CEO’s. For
years now companies have been trying to drag their high tech employees
out of their office spaces and into a shared environment. That fact
that your employees are willing to stay where they are certainly works
in your favour.
Finally, although I’ve given you plenty of ammunition to argue your
case, I should mention that many of the articles I came across argued
against the open-space model unless issues of sound, lighting,
privacy, and air quality are addressed.
I would suggest that the final decision depends on the dynamics of
your group, the need for information flow and sharing of ideas, and
the actual business processes your company employs.
Best of luck in your argument.
- K~
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