In today’s world, technology and the workplace are not separate entities. Technology is part of nearly every workflow and every workplace, integrated into the fabric of how we work and what we do each day. As such, it’s impossible to separate technology from space and people, and anyone who tries to objectively design technology without considering the space and the people who will be using it will ultimately fail on some level.
It’s interesting because when you think about today’s modern workplace, you quickly find that it is at odds with itself. Designers are tasked with creating spaces that are flexible but consistent, provide open collaboration but deep focus, promote innovation but enable execution, are open yet private, and spaces that are personal while promoting community.
Then layer on top of that the varying mindsets and skill sets of the workers themselves and you start to get some sense of how difficult workplace and technology design can be.