The considerations in designing collaborative spaces for productivity.

1. Designing Collaborative Spaces
for Productivity
Deepak Srinivasan

2. Agenda
• All of the material is from experience
• There are plenty of resources out there – so I
am not going to rehash theory
• Well, maybe a little . I changed my mind
since I didn’t have enough slides.

3. Success Rate of IT Projects
Ref : http://www.ambysoft.com/surveys/success2013.html#Results

4. Quiz
• We have come to value the following 4 practices
of the Agile manifesto. What are they?
• Individuals and interactions over processes and
tools
• Working software over comprehensive
documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

5. Quiz
• What are the 5 values of Scrum
• Openness
• Focus
• Courage
• Commitment
• Respect

6. Getting Something Done
• Anecdote : A senior programmer who has
been working in IT for 25 odd years. Sceptical
about Agile - another management tool to (fill
in your favorite management dilbertism here).
Then says (in joy) - I wake up now and come to
work looking forward to getting something
done.

7. Focus
• Working software
• Responding to change
• But…this is not everything
• We will cover a portion of the delta

8. 5 Scrum Values
• Focus is on Commitment, Courage, Focus.
• How about Openness and Respect?
• This session addresses a portion of the delta

9. Collaboration
• Permit as much usable surface as possible to
serve as writing surfaces – windows, walls
• There should never be a need to schedule
meeting rooms
• Caves and Commons – Open rooms + Access
to personal spaces as needed

10. Agile Space

11. Agile Space

12. Agile Space

13. Virtual Spaces
• Design virtual spaces similar to physical spaces
• Group rooms and private chat spaces
• Ensure there are water cooler, play rooms
available

14. People
• Large work areas – sufficient to accommodate
3 people sitting together
• Mobile work areas
• People can be loud – personal spaces with
doors

15. Teams
• Work in the open – closed to the outside noise
• Colocated – this includes product owner
• Self contained – includes meeting rooms
• Water cooler and Play areas
• Room to express individual/team
• Keep the pigs and chickens separate – even
outside the daily standup

16. Open but Closed

17. Discuss
• Form in groups of 5
• Discuss amongst yourselves the single
discerning feature of an effective team you
have seen or been part of
• Share with us 

18. Effective Team
• The most effective team I had the pleasure of
working with was isolated in their own room,
free to chat as a team, hop up and use the
whiteboard, play music in the afternoon, and
generally bond as a team. They could do all
this without disturbing any other team.

19. Layout

20. Enough of Theory
• Wait – that was theory 
• Wait until you see what comes next 

21. An Agile Space Wishlist
• Team size 8, room occupancy 20
• Every member has a private cubicle
• Light, ventilation, plants, colors – Aesthetics
• Small conference rooms – satellite
• Polycom phones, white boards

22. Create your Wishlist
• Divide into groups of 5
• Discuss your “most wanted” list
• Share with the rest

23. Ending Quiz
(Just to make it FUN)
• What tools or techniques do the following
images represent?