Where we're going, we don't need headphones
I agree with the same concerns that Raimo and Markus have. It&#x27;s not just acoustic noise, it&#x27;s also visual noise. I face the entry to our open floor plan office and every time someone walks in I can&#x27;t help but look to see who it is.<p>One man offices are cheap and by far the most productive work environment for software development. Any software development organization that&#x27;s not investing in them isn&#x27;t thinking strategically. Engineers should be able to face somewhere that&#x27;s not distracting, and have a quiet work environment without requiring headphones (music can be a distraction too). If you want to collaborate, do it in your office, it should be big enough for a couple people to join you, or a conference room if you need more.<p>The only criticism I have for one man offices is that it makes it too easy to goof off and surf the web, but that&#x27;s a different managerial problem. You should make sure all the offices have glass walls so you can see if someone is in their office and have an idea what they are doing. But mainly you should review all code as it&#x27;s checked in for quality, and it should also give you a good idea of their productivity.<p>I think Apple has the best idea for this. Their work pods at the new campus have all glass walls facing the hallway, sliding doors to maximize room in the office, and built in storage. There looks to be plenty of room for a couple of coworkers to join you and help collaborate when need be.