Noise is a secret killer of performance | Hacker News Reader

Noise is a secret killer of performance

twitter.com

10 pointscheeseface5 comments

Anecdote time: I once attended a meet-up at a tech company nearby. After the event, and following up on a previous discussion, one of the locals showed us a display they setup in their open space to show the current db level. The sensors were fully functional and the numbers changed as we clapped our hands and everyone agreed that it was kind of smart and well made.

But there was an issue. The system's raison d'être was to alert everyone when a set threshold was crossed, in an attempt to keep the noise low and productivity high. The problem was that the threshold was based on some ideal that was wholly incompatible with an open space full of developers asking and answering questions, discussing algorithms, etc. The alerting part of the system was triggered so often that they eventually disabled it, rendering the whole thing quite useless.

Perhaps “an open space full of developers asking and answering questions, …” is the problem not the solution. It sounds like a meeting, and I’m sure there was one or two people in that space thinking of mayhem.

For me, peace and quiet when I’m trying to suss out a problem or create new code. Leave me alone so as to not break the flow. Instrumental music can work with certain kinds of debugging, such as performance tuning, but usually no. Rands has written about this at length and Joel and all the others pushing offices bring it up.

I’m not a creative. I’m not into gameplay in a bullpen. I cut technical code, which is why wfh has been such a win for me. And I’m stepping aside to give somebody else the chance.

Maybe there's a compromise that would work, like an open office with lots of movable panels covered in sound-deadening foam traingles to break up the echoes (might look ugly for when the investors take a tour though...)

I have worked in a cube farm (which seems to be what you're describing), but the unspoken rule was to take your chatter elsewhere. The cubes were 5' walls which were nice when you sat down, and some normal/quiet conversation should go on without traveling too far.

But if you're going to "take it elsewhere" you're breaking the programming model that seems to be what's done right now.

Everybody who gets forced to work in an open office plan should get a pair of really good and comfortable ANC cans from the company by default.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com