Why Open Office Layouts Do Not Work For Software Developers

Introduction

Over our 24 year history at Open Sky we've watched with dismay at the trend to gather developers into open plan office spaces. This cost savings design trend has proven to be rather poorly thought out. In this article we'll explore some of the reasons why open office layouts do not work for software developers.

Developers are idiosyncratic people

The best software developers are both highly creative and highly idiosyncratic. They are extremely sensitive to sensory overload and require privacy, peace, and quite. "Leave me alone so I can work" is a common refrain from productive software developers.

It kills productivity

Per the old mechanic's adage... If you drop off your car we charge $50/hour, if you stay and watch we charge $100/hour, and if you talk or help we charge $150/hour. The same holds for quality software development, if someone is watching and/or distracting you, it's going to lower productivity. And the studies done on open plan offices back this up.

It destroys morale

Nobody really likes people looking at them while they work. Who thought this was a good idea?

The best people won't tolerate it

The best and brightest in the industry will not put up with it, as they are far too good and in demand. Quality development requires lots of personal (and private) space, several very large monitors, and an absolutely killer workstation. The best developers don't mess around with laptops in common areas because they have work they want to get done. It doesn't matter how expensive the chair is, or how ergonomic the desk is... if it's sitting in the open, they want none of it.

It is insecure

Open office layouts violate the tenets of security compliance. From screens that are easy to watch, to keyboards that are easy to record, to conversations that are easy to overhear, to documents that are too easily left sitting out. It's the opposite of what secure software development is all about.

It lowers communication

Studies have shown that the open plan offices lead to a decrease in team communication. The upshot is people get sick of other people around and in their face all the time... so they communicate with others less, or not at all.

Rather work from home

One of the side effects of open plan offices is an increased desire to work from home. At least at home one can obtain some modicum of privacy and productivity. Is it any surprise that so many developers (most of whom are in open offices these days) reported being happier working under the coronavirus quarantine at home rather than under their previous configuration in an open plan office.

Long live private offices

At Open Sky we provide our development teams with secure, private, tricked-out spaces to work in for maximum comfort, security, and productivity. And it works extremely well. Our teams represent the best and the brightest in the industry and deserve nothing less. Here's an example of one of our private offices.

The above speaks volumes as to why the Open Sky team is able to code circles around our competitors. Moreover, it is in keeping with Open Sky's mission of building software that gets used - for great people, with great people!

COVID 19 Update

Since the pandemic it's worth adding that given a choice, most developers would in fact prefer to work from home. A topic for another day.