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Posted by: Pulse Cloud
Why does Bungie defend the opposite so violently? It's pretty obvious that if you're focused on writing the most beautiful peace of code a man could think of and then someone yells from across the room "Hey guys, check this out!" or the guy next to you asks you if you have a red pen, that focus and everything you had planned in your head is gone, and the refocusing process will mean wasted time.Actually, the problem of wasted time in software development is an extremely interesting one, and it's one Bungie, as they developed from the bedroom-and-garage studio that put out Halo 1 to the highly professional house it is today, got a very good handle on. The two publications Wrangling Engineers the Bungie Way and Building Your Airplane While Flying: Production at Bungie detail quite well how, by keeping your whole staff flexible at the small scale, but keeping to a strict process of iteration for the big picture, you can both reap the benefits of an extremely creative, open office without falling into the pitfalls that so damaged H2.
I suspect the problems found with open plan office working are not a consequence of the layout, but rather a consequence of unprofessional staff and a lack of a production framework. Engineers the world over will tell you production staff are the devil's work, but applied properly, they really do work.
[Edited on 09.09.2011 8:20 AM PDT]