The Mozument and our Mozilla San Francisco office
February 4, 2014 § Leave a comment
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Mozilla’s office design embodies our approach to software – open source and collaborative, with a large portion of the office dedicated to serving our larger Mozilla community of volunteers. Snacks and comfortable seating are abundant and our flexible spaces lend themselves to a variety of activities including hackathons, design labs, brownbags, and industry talks each integral to our world class leadership in software development.
One shining example of Mozilla’s open source approach is our newly installed Mozilla Sign (Monument) at the corner of the Embarcadero and Harrison street. More than a sign, it represents our world community in both symbol and structure with its combination of glass (transparency) and steel (strength). Looking closer, you’ll find the etchings of nearly 5,000 contributor names (Mozillians) who help make us…well, “Mozilla”. Ultimately, we hope it serves as a beacon not just for the city of San Francisco but for the current and future participation of our worldwide open source community.
Inside the office, the company recognizes the evolving flexible working environment required by today’s knowledge workers. Collaboration zones are designed to connect flexible teams and their projects. All desks are actually push-button, height-adjustable surfaces, allowing people to work at their own “height number”. There are no executive offices. In their place, there are dozens of conference rooms each outfitted with whiteboards, presentation, and video conferencing capability. Our goal with these spaces is to connect our global Mozillian workforce whether they work from their homes or in one of the dozen Mozilla spaces located across four different continents. Amidst all this collaboration space, we maintain a focus of ensuring privacy (when desired) and noise reduction while maintaining the open office plan. Whether it’s our Buzzi-felt sound absorbing walls and ceilings or private phone booths, we aim to respect each individual’s preferences.
Perhaps the most stunning feature of our famed San Francisco office is our 7th floor roof deck nestled directly underneath the historic Hills Brothers sign with its famous nightly red neon glow. With sweeping views of the Ferry Building, the Oakland bay bridge, Alcatraz, and the Embarcadero walking paths, you’ll often find Mozillian’s camped out on the decks outdoor couches Wi-Fi’ing away in classic California outdoor working style. On other days and weekends, this deck provides the perfect hot spot for Blue Angels, Fireworks, or events like the Americas Cup. Mozilla’s offices are definitely on the short list of San Francisco’s must-visit office spaces.
The Making Of….
https://air.mozilla.org/monument/
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Mozilla Talks (Best Of): Minimum Viable Bureaucracy
January 28, 2014 § 4 Comments
Listen to Laura Thomson @lxt, Sr Web Engineering Mgr, describe Mozilla’s “MVP” Minimum Viable Bureaucracy. We do this not only in Engineering but everywhere inside Mozilla (especially Finance and Operations).
https://air.mozilla.org/minimum-viable-bureaucracy/
Best of Quotes from this Minimum Viable Bureaucracy talk:
The basis of any self-organizing system = TRUST
Awesome communication processes require practice
Every project should have a URL
Let subject matter experts emerge (module owner or Benevolent Dictator For Life)
A 1 person = 2 day marathon Prototype + Momentum gets people motivated and makes the PATH clear
Iterate toward greatness
Ruthless murder scope creep “Not in This Iteration”. NO! ….. is a complete sentence.
There is no such thing as a structureless organization (there is somebody at the end of the day organizing “stuff”)
Knowing how to work hard is a skill some people have never learned (especially if they are incredibly smart and have intellectually cruised through life)
In this talk, you’ll hear Laura reference several other current and former thought leaders at Mozilla.
This talk appeared at OSCON 2013 and the slide deck has garnered some attention, but the talk was not recorded, so as per requests, Laura re-delivers it on Air Mozilla as a brownbag.
For more of Laura: http://lanyrd.com/profile/lxt/ < you’ll find all her slide decks here.
Other talks referenced by Laura: John O’Duinn’s “We Are All Remoties” > http://oduinn.com/blog/2012/04/04/we-are-all-remoties/
John Lilly’s Preso on Mozilla and Managing Chaos http://www.slideshare.net/johnolilly/stanford-presentation-on-mozilla-presentation?type=powerpoint