Shared Music Development Group
Shared Music Development GroupAs noted on the GoodThinkingMusic page, developers (with the possible exception of KentBeck :-) generally enjoy the same kinds of thinking music. But walkmans isolate people and interfere with PairProgramming, and anyway people really enjoy listening in company.
Therefore,
It can be pleasant, so long as you have a room to yourselves, to set up a little stereo system and let folk bring in their own CDs to play on it. There's generally some ettiquette in this:
So rare, so fine. It has been a while since I have worked this way. More and more programmers these days seem to be into the office thing. They dress up (when they don't have to), arrive at work promptly at 9am (and leave at 6pm) and they would rather listen to talk (gossip) radio or Top 40. And usually the radio is used to avoid work (and boredom). Our universities don't seem to teach these kids the right attitude! -- ToddCoram
While this sounds like a GoodThing, it actually may turn out a BadThing, depending on the musical tastes of the people involved. If some people don't like my punk or ska, and I don't like someone else's dance music, we may end up having to listen to boring AOR that nobody likes but that nobody really takes offense to either. -- AalbertTorsius
I am working (on contract) in a large open plan office space and I have difficulty concentrating on my work because the building is supplied with continual pop music. A vote has taken place and the majority are in favour. I don't want to resort to ear defenders because then I won't be able to hear my co-workers. Any advice? --RachelDavies
I think it's hilariously ironic that the same big-company dweebs who blat on and on about "productivity" and "efficiency" are so blind to the devastating effects that their decisions about the corporate work environment have on their "resources" (because corporations like to deny the humanity of their workers). My generation, rightly or wrongly, was taught study (and therefore work) habits that invariably started with rule number 1:
No music. No television. Quiet.
I suppose I suffer from adult-onset ADHD, but I cannot concentrate at all when their is music or conversation in my environment. I think it was KentBeck who described programming as MentalJuggling?, and that's certainly what it's like for me. Each phone call, each hallway conversation, and each tune on the radio causes all the balls to drop to the floor.
I wonder how many of the executives of the company that RachelDavies works for also work in "open plan" office? Most of the executives I know - especially those who promote such travesties - are careful to make sure that they have large, windowed, quiet offices guarded by multiple layers of receptionists who zealously protect their boss from all those unwanted interruptions.
My suggestion to Rachel is to choose one or more of the following evils:
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