James Shore

in 99 words

An informative workspace is about information and accessibility. Surround yourself with information. Pay attention to the mood and buzz in the room. Create big charts and plans that graphically show your progress.

Use hand-drawn charts, posted prominently, to ensure that information is constantly visible and easily modified. Don't let a spreadsheet or project management tool constrain what you can track.

Beware of gaming. To prevent it, discuss charts as a team. Review their use often and take them down after a few iterations. Don't report workspace charts outside of the team and never use them in performance evaluations.

as haiku

Little plastic nubs...
tiny green leaves; together,
meaning in the dirt

Commentary

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Inside This Section

• Informative Workspace
• Subtle Cues
• Big Visible Charts
• Hand-Drawn Charts
• Process Improvement Charts
• Gaming
• Questions
  • We need to share status with people who can't or won't visit the team workspace regularly. How do we do that without computerized charts?
  • Our charts are constantly out of date. How can I get team members to keep them up-to-date?
• Results
• Contraindications
• Alternatives
• Further Reading