Ben Carey has a good post about cubicles and links to an article with the history of the cubicle. Good read and I completely agree. I'm not big on cubicles. The only thing nice about them is that they provide a bit of privacy when you need to talk privately on the phone. But that's about it. Ben's take on cubicles as a hindrance to communication is spot on.
Case in point, actually two cases in point. One: my current project. It's been a few years since I've had this much fun on a project. The main reason is because of the people, but right along with that is because we're all in the same “war room” together; no cubicles. We talk constantly, pair program/design when we need to, and dog each other all day long. It's fantastic. When you need to talk on your cell phone privately, you go outside the room. Simple as that. If you need a cubicle because you like to decorate, well, that's your problem. Although I do decorate in our war room: I have a cool die cast of the Death Star sitting on my desk. Plus, every now and then someone will draw some “art“ on the big-ass whiteboards.
The other case I have is that time I mentioned a few years ago, when I was working at NW. Again, the main reason it worked was because of the people, but also because of how we were arranged. We were in cubicles, but they happened to be setup in a way where they all opened up to each other, thus not closing anyone off. And we had a whiteboard right there to hash anything out without the need for a stupid meeting.
Print | posted on Saturday, April 01, 2006 10:42 PM