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Comment by Scott_MacGregor | Hacker News Reader

Being an ENTJ (not an introvert expert by any means) I wonder if those who are more introverted would be more comfortable, and thus perform better, with walls (tall private cubicles) vs. being in a bullpen style development environment that is favored by so many startups?

Based on the assumption that a lot of developers are INTJ in the Meyer's Briggs.

Any input on this guys?

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Walls are totally not about introvert/extrovert, it's about the fact that if you get interrupted for 30 seconds, it can cost 15 minutes of productivity.

Walls make it more of an effort for someone to interrupt you.

It's an interesting premise, but I think I disagree with it. I work at a ~300 person web development/engineering company, in exactly the kind of low-walled "bullpen" situation you describe - a large room with ~60 developers, all of whom can be seen if you stand up almost anywhere in the room.

Being a bit of an introvert myself, I was a bit taken aback at first. But after nearly a year there, I think it's been a good influence on my working habits - introverts tend to be the kind of people who send e-mails to their coworkers to explain a problem or question, even if they sit close by, rather than talking to them directly. However, the open layout encourages direct collaboration and communication. With just a glance, I can see that the lead developer is at his desk and not speaking with anyone, which means I'm not likely to interrupt him in the middle of something important if I drop by.

Joel Spolsky on why developers need their own offices:

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/FieldGuidetoDeveloper...

You'll find a lot of How To Treat Your Developers/Geeks/Hackers articles posted here, and one of the common points is private offices (not 'tall cubicles').

I don't know if it's really because that makes people feel important; it's usually phrased in terms of distraction and breaking flow.

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