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Overview |
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How does physical space affect collaboration? How does having an exclusive, dedicated meeting space influence the number of times a team will meet, the length of those meetings, and the quality of the effort?
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Methods |
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We set out to develop answers to these questions by studying software engineering students working together on class projects. To some teams they gave dedicated project rooms, to some nothing- they worked in open, shared facilities. Data was collected on how often and how long the teams met, how spontaneous their meetings were and how satisfied they were with their work. Teams' work was evaluated at the end to allow comparison of quality. In the end, the teams with project rooms were no different then those that roamed, either in time nor quality. But they used the facilities in creative ways to allow them to coordinate their work.
The findings accompanied with a field study of those who manage space allocation for special projects in nine companies. Which groups in a company get their own spaces, what are the best space allocation practices, and what are the benefits of dedicated space for the participants? From interviews and tours of special-project spaces, a variety of new technologies in use in collaborative spaces, including very large scale presentation spaces (eq. sliding wall- size white boards with magnets, three layers deep, use of 45 flip charts taped to all walls, etc.), videoconferencing, and electronically shared artifacts.
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