People Spaces

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PETER SCHEYEN

CTO, Richard Ivey School of BusinessFormerly with Comcast, TVWorks, Liberate, CableshareExperience includes Manager, Director Software Development, VP EngineeringSmall teams, large teams, distributed teams

@pscheyen, +pscheyen, linkedin.com/in/peterscheyen

What are ‘People Spaces’?

PEOPLE SPACES: CONTEXT

Team-based, knowledge and/or creative workExamples

Design (product, graphical, written, etc)Creative worksDiscoveryResearchEngineeringSoftware development

What Makes A Team Effective?

Workspaces

People Spaces

Factor #1: Collocation

PEOPLE SPACES: COLLOCATION

Principle: Whole Team sits togetherShown to impact

Team IdentityTrustCommunication EffectivenessCamaraderieCollaborationParticipationProductivity

Who is the “Whole Team”?

PEOPLE SPACES: COLLOCATION

PEOPLE SPACES: COLLOCATION

Collocation has a major impact on style, quality and modes of communication

Structured communication (planned meetings)Ad hoc but intentional conversationsOsmotic and serendipitous

Factor #2: Layout

PEOPLE SPACES: LAYOUT

Collocated teams can be arranged in different configurationsPhysical layout must support principle of Whole TeamSupport communication in all formsOptions to consider

The War Room (aka Team Room, Bullpen)Team ClustersCaves and Commons

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PEOPLE SPACES: LAYOUT

Other ConsiderationsNoise (“Drafts”)Peripheral VisionConfigurabilityScentsDensityStorageVirusesStewardship

Factor #3: Information Radiators

PEOPLE SPACES: INFORMATION RADIATORS

Transparency is a pervasive form of communicationTransparency breeds trustKeeps most important team issues, tasks, risks top-of-mindSome examples

Information radiatorsTask boards, kanban boards and pull systemsVisual indicators like charts, glow balls, traffic lights, etc.

Factor #4: Ergonomics

PEOPLE SPACES: ERGONOMICS

Principle: Adjust workspace to meet the physical needs and work patterns of the individualFactors

Chair height - legs, knees, hips, back, feetDesk height - shoulder, elbow, wristMonitor height - neck, back

Reduction in time off due to illnessPositive correlation between proper ergonomic configuration and increased productivity and decreased absenteeism

Factor #5: Environment

PEOPLE SPACES: ENVIRONMENT

Positive correlation between workplace environment and increased productivity and decreased absenteeismNatural lightGood air circulationLiving plantsNatural materialsColourConvenienceArtPersonalization

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Factor #6: Distributed Teams

PEOPLE SPACES: DISTRIBUTED TEAMS

PEOPLE SPACES: DISTRIBUTED TEAMS

Evidence consistently indicates in-person teams outperform distributed teamsGood Reasons for distributing teams

AcquisitionsGeographic Localization

Poor Reasons for distributing teamsOffshoring Work from home

PEOPLE SPACES: DISTRIBUTED TEAMS

Evidence consistently indicates in-person teams outperform distributed teamsGood Reasons for distributing teams

AcquisitionsGeographic Localization

Poor Reasons for distributing teamsOffshoring Work from home

BUT... most of us can’t control whether our teams are distributed

PEOPLE SPACES: DISTRIBUTED TEAMS

Go “all in” (not half-way)Maintain Whole Team principlesThink “Collocation”

Communication is the biggest challenge and opportunityAvoid site-specific teamsKick off the project face-to-faceAdapt processes and practices for the common goodAll sites participate equally in team practices and processesCommon documentation repositoryIn-house social media tools (e.g. Yammer)

PEOPLE SPACES: DISTRIBUTED TEAMS

LayoutLeverage internet video to extend the office into other sitesCameras / monitors in each team common area

PEOPLE SPACES: DISTRIBUTED TEAMS

Information RadiatorsFavour electronic radiators over paper Interactive whiteboards

PEOPLE SPACES: DISTRIBUTED TEAMS

EnvironmentFavour meeting times that take into account timezones (share the pain)If not possible, use team proxies

Where Do I Start?

UNDERSTAND YOUR CONTEXT

Understand your culture today and what you want it to beInclude the Whole Team in the discussionBrainstorm furiouslyMake budgetary limits and rollout part of the challenge for the teamDoesn’t always have budget impact -- some teams just need “permission”Address management concerns through bi-directional transparencyIdentify early wins

YOU ARE NEVER “DONE”

Live with a change before making your next change. Retrospect with and listen to the team.Make workspace considerations part of your pre-project conversationsRaise awareness that these issues are important to our success

Your Ideal Workspace

REFERENCES AND READ LIST

http://scheyeniam.blogspot.ca/2012/04/people-spaces-reading-list.html