How to create an Agile Office

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xsolve.software

Karolina KołodziejCommunications Manager

Office design can have a huge impact on the efficiency and

creativity of employees and the right layout can improve information flow and knowledge exchange within a

company.

Telenor’s experiment

● They got rid of the coffee

machines,

● Leaving 1 / 120 employees

and expanded their

cafeteria areas to

accommodate more

people.

● surprisingly experiment

yielded a 20% increase in

profits, a whopping $200

million.

What is Agile Office?

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Agile office is a work space which supports agile teams

Agile workspace supports

agile teams in:

● Collaboration

● Transparency

● Communication

● Knowledge exchange

● Openness to change

● Predictability

Atlassian HQ example

They built their office around

Transparency and

Collaboration with various

alternative work spaces.

Facebook example

Facebook invested in the

biggest open space in the

world, where management sits

with the team, and meeting

rooms are lining up the open

space.

Apple example

Apple hq invested in a gigantic

three floor cafe that can hold

up to 4000 employees at once

to increase a chance of random

human interactions.

How to create Agile Office?

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8 elements of an agile workspace

● Open space

● Calls and meetings space

● Big conference rooms

● Transparency

● Disrupted ergonomic

● Fun and relaxation

● Decor

Create Open Concept Space 2.0

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● Remove any cubicles

and all partitions

Action

● Gain transparency and

improved communication

within your team

Benefit

● Install identical

workstations all over the

office (with monitors and

monitor handle kits).

Action

● Ease of switching places

all over the office - fast

and agile

Benefit

● Enable easy collaboration

with custom desks (with a

retracted leg) and lay

them out to leave plenty

of space between rows.

Action

● Easily work in teams and

initiate activities like pair

programming or quick

gather-ups

Benefit

● TV screens on walls and

whiteboards on wheels

Action

● Every team can display

crucial data or see

important stats they need

● The teams can move their

whiteboard from the

open space to a meeting

room

Benefit

● Invest in alternative

workspaces

Action

● It helps to open up your

mind when bouncing on a

sitting ball, swinging on a

sofa swing or laying

down on big puffs.

Boosts creativity and

concentration.

Benefit

● Draw, write and scribble

everywhere - on walls,

sticky notes, glass and

mobile whiteboards

Action

● Enable your team to

visualise ideas and

thoughts anywhere they

need

Benefit

Create Team Meeting Rooms

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IMPORTANT:

● One room for every two

teams

● In direct vicinity of the

open space to enable

easy transfer back & forth

● Each team needs a

comfort of working in an

isolated room if required

FEATURES:

● Equip with TV screens for

conf calls and displaying

data

● Provide tables on wheels

and foldable chairs

● Noise-absorbing panels

wherever possible

● Cover the walls with

transparent paint for

notetaking

Create Big Conference Rooms

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Actions:

● Create a cozy

atmosphere

● Soft lighting and comfy

chairs

● Avoid distracting decor

If you settle in for a long meeting it should feel comfortable and be able to fully focus on the meeting ahead. You don’t want people fidgeting after 20 min.

Action:

● Invest in state of the art

teleconferencing

equipment

One of the most important features is your equipment. It’s the XXIst century - a lot of meetings happen remotely. Try to create the feeling that the person on the other side of the glass screen is actually sitting with you - the conf call should be seamless and easy.

Action:

● Equip with huge

whiteboards

● Walls and glass can also

be your whiteboards

Writing and visualising equipment is crucial - invest in good whiteboards. But walls can also be your drawing boards - great for brainstorming!

Support Transparency

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Actions:

● Glass walls everywhere

● No cubicles or partitions

Can you really talk about

transparency if no one knows

what is happening behind

closed doors or when cubicles

are blocking your line of sight?

FEATURES:

● Monitors on the walls

Keep everyone in the loop by displaying burndown charts, projects’ predictability, backlogs or important stats for anyone to see.

KEY TIP:

● Management! Sit with

your teams.

Don’t let higher management close themselves up in their corner offices. For better transparency and communication, they should sit among the team. 62% of office workers have greater respect for their leaders who work in the open space with them (from Innovations in Office Design).

Create Disrupted Ergonomics

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Actions:

● Leave just one coffee

machine

● Provide a cafe to

continue the

conversations

Take example from Telenor and limit the number of coffee machines to 1 for every 100 employees. But remember to provide a space where people can continue those conversations.

Actions:

● One printer - the same

rule as with the coffee

machines

● No reception - do you

really need a reception?

● The layout - can you plan

the floor layout to

mobilize people and

encourage more random

encounters?

Create Fun & Relaxation Areas

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Silent Room

A space to relax and regain

inner balance or just work in

silence.

Chaos Room:

A place to be loud and chill

with workmates.

Outdoor

Great for outdoor meetings and

breaks in the sun.

Cafe

Fantastic for socialising over a

meal or a cup of coffee.

Remember about Smart Decor

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Actions:

● Color scheme – keep it

simple

● Limit the decorative

elements - leave space

for work and creativity

Actions:

● Consider cozy,

homely feel - people

should feel comfortable in

the office

● Allow people to fill it

in with colour

Thank You!

https://xsolve.software hello@xsolve.pl