As defined by Wikipedia agile favours amongst other things;
* responding to change over following a plan
* individuals and interactions over processes and tools
* working software over comprehensive documentation
* face-to-face conversation
* co-location and pair programming
And also...
"Agile methods emphasize face-to-face communication over written documents when the team is all in the same location. Most agile teams work in a single open office (called a bullpen), which facilitates such communication. Team size is typically small (5-9 people) to simplify team communication and team collaboration."
I could go on. Almost everything in agile is about flexibility and that's exactly what we need in our team and exactly what being able to sit close together without cube walls enables.
Agile certainly is not about single lines of communication, it's almos the complete oposite of that. Agile doesn't have 'appropriate times' since unknowns must be accommodated as and when. Being agile is about iteration, firing and then aiming, talking to each other, collaborating, and getting it done.
And as I said before, if individuals need uninterrupted time to get their work done this of course is accommodated. We're not school children, we know how to behave.
IM and email are all ok communication tools, but they are inefficient compared to a quick conversation - especially if you need to look at a visual front end bug on your colleague's screen in order to understand what the problem is.
* responding to change over following a plan * individuals and interactions over processes and tools * working software over comprehensive documentation * face-to-face conversation * co-location and pair programming
And also...
"Agile methods emphasize face-to-face communication over written documents when the team is all in the same location. Most agile teams work in a single open office (called a bullpen), which facilitates such communication. Team size is typically small (5-9 people) to simplify team communication and team collaboration."
I could go on. Almost everything in agile is about flexibility and that's exactly what we need in our team and exactly what being able to sit close together without cube walls enables.
Agile certainly is not about single lines of communication, it's almos the complete oposite of that. Agile doesn't have 'appropriate times' since unknowns must be accommodated as and when. Being agile is about iteration, firing and then aiming, talking to each other, collaborating, and getting it done.
And as I said before, if individuals need uninterrupted time to get their work done this of course is accommodated. We're not school children, we know how to behave.
IM and email are all ok communication tools, but they are inefficient compared to a quick conversation - especially if you need to look at a visual front end bug on your colleague's screen in order to understand what the problem is.