I have yet to meet a software developer who said, “I just love working in a cube farm.” I’ve never run across a developer who would turn down an offer to work in their own office. And I’ve never met a software developer who said, “You know, distractions and interruptions are great for my productivity!”
But I have met plenty of software development managers who think that developers need nothing more than a workstation, a network connection, and a few inches of elbow room. Now, I have never actually heard a development manager say, “I’d love to create a working environment designed to stymie concentration!” or “Let’s set things up so it’s super easy to interrupt the developers with a question.” But they seemed to have those goals.
In a past career, I had an opportunity to help design a new building for a software company. I explicitly and willfully didn’t want to be one of the aforementioned managers who subconsciously (consciously?) created a working environment designed to limit developer productivity. When the architects called me in to get my input on how the building was to be designed, I had only two things on my list: indirect lighting and offices for the developers.
