IT Manager Office Design

An espresso machine. Y'know for those late nights when the systems have all failed....

http://www.1stincoffee.com/saeco-vienna-deluxe.htm

Preferably one that locks.

You also need enough room for a small conference table and a functional desk.

A window to outside is good, a window to the office, not so much.

Have fun!

I could not live without several of each. Make sure that you have plenty of storage for software and hardware. Several network jacks, preferably around the small conference table that Mae suggested.

Whiteboards are indispensable.

Oh and if it is not too much trouble, a desk and chair. :D

but fake book or server rack that leads outside the building. Perfect for those easy getaways and fly smokes. The White House has a few...

Be thankful that your company is giving forsight to a office, most builds think of comms as a last thought.

Space has got to be critical. To future proof your office I would suggest the more network points and power sockets the better. If the company has the budget a backup generator would be nice.

The ability to have a trestle table for IT contractors is handy with a few folding chairs.

Lock eveything down, a decent sized fire safe is handy for safe storage of backups. A small area to store a change of clothes for when you are diggin around sever racks and getting covered in dust.

Your own phone which is on a independant line for emergencies (when the PABX goes down).

Chances are the bean counters will kill themsleves laughing when you tell them all this but you don't ask you don't get.

Best of Luck.

Incorporating the principles of "Universal Design" would be the first of my criteria.
Second would be flexibility of the workstation.
A sit-stand solution consisting of a monitor arm mounted LCD and a height-adjustable keyboard tray (with ample room for a mouse/trackball on the same plane)allows for a variety of working positions. An electronicly adjustable workstation with split monitor/keyboard plane would also do just fine, although a bit more expensive than an add-on sit-stand solution.
Good air circulation and adjustable lighting are crucial.

Toys would include a proximity switch device for activating lights and computer access i.e. walk into the room and the lights come on and you are logged in.

The list could get very long.

Strangely enough, I would prefer to keep the manager's workplace out in the open space with the techs and maintain the "closed office" as an IT dedicated conference room for when you really need privacy.

Of course there is a tried and tested design already....the Enterprise bridge. :{>

Turbolift - optional

Spock - priceless :{>

Because I have been there...

I think the office should be little short of a studio apartment. A place to nap (Couch, Futon), a place to cleanup (sink baths are soooo uncool), Conference/Eating table and anything else the cafeteria, restrooms don't supply. If the demands of the postion are 24/7/365 the office should be also. You give up a life for this stuff they might as well make it comfortable.
Windows are only great it you have something to look at (gee nice wall!).
I suggest justifying the expense in the business continuity/disaster recovery plan. The efforts blend so nicely. ;-)

Ask for this http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-10877_11-30410.html
Not really something that requires an office but it sure would be cool to have.

When they get done laughing at you, ask for a second area with a table, chairs, white board, etc that is away from your primary desk. I don't have that and wished I did. It is very difficult having a meeting while you are sitting in your personal work area - Monitor is in the way, your e-mail is just a glance away, IM, etc. etc. etc. A seperate area can really help you and the people that are in your office stay focused.

I would try to be as close to the datacom as possible (next door preferred) and if you are next door have a window into the room to have a visual of what's going on in there, comes in handy.

...

But never, EVER have the manager's office significantly nicer/better than what the line workers have. Why? Morale. When the workers see their boss with $20,000 worth of gadgets in the office, but they got a twenty five cent raise last quarter, you have just created a number of very resentful employees. "Well, now I know where my raise went... my boss's chair is worth more than my benefits package... his monitor costs more than my last bonus..." etc. I am a big beleiver in the idea that manager should equally share in the trials and tribulations of their team. Not only is this good for morale, but it also gives the manager insight into what problems their team faces. When the manager is in an isolated bubble, they are not able to detect and solve problems that are not brought to their attention. Giving a manager upgraded equipment is completed upside down. When the manager spends all day in Outlook, Word, Excel, and PwoerPoint, but their workers are crunching numbers, compiling code, and running VMs for test beds, does it really make sense for the manager to get top end equipment while the developers are using the corporate standard? Absolutely not.

Along the same lines, it does not make sense to give a manager that spends all day in meetings a souped up office, while the line workers who are tied to desks 8 hours a day have broken down furniture, ancient monitors that hurt the eyes, old keyboards that cause wrist strain, and so on. Not only does it not make sense, but it is downright insulting to the line workers.

I would only splurge on a manager's office if the line workers were being well taken care of. I do not care if you can wrangle authorization for it or not, the impression that it gives to the workers will hurt their morale, and therefore your bottom line.

J.Ja

When I arrived at my current employer there were no free offices so I sat in cubes for a while.

When they built a new office, there was no options on where or how big.

My boss gave me a budget(not high) tossed me the catalogue for the office furniture place and told me to order it myself.

The only thing manadatory are lockable file cabinets/drawers. Desks etc are personal taste. A couple of visitors chair are de rigeur. I don't have a window office, but there is a window beside my door so I can see the cubes of my employees - about 2 feet wide and the height of the door - I got blinds so that I can both close the door and block out prying eyes for when I need to concentrate.

James

Thanks everyone for the great, and entertaining, suggestions. Some which were particularly useful were the firesafe, additional power outlets, whiteboards, and future proofing the design.

I work at a small winery with only about a dozen work-stations. Building expansion is nearly complete but the creation of offices insisde this expansion may not take place before the end of the year. Just as somone else mentioned, I have been handed catalogs to create my furniture wish-list but need to come up with dimensions. Not doubt the sales staff will have more pull than I but I've got a much better idea of what to ask for now.

ThinkGeek.com has so much nice stuff. Why don't they offer a large poster of a window to the outside for geek offices? I have bought their Network Secuirty Staff tshirt :-)

Thanks all,
Butch
future IT Manager office dweller

I would ask for a few things:

A desk, maybe 30" deep and 72" wide. Should sit in the back third, chair behind it. Need to have people come in and stand infront of the desk when they need IT.

A small conference table near the door, big enough for 3chairs. Round is ok. Conference phone on the table.

White board on the wall and a good bookshelf.

That's cool. Thanks for the feedback. Your explanation is great. I'm only hoping to help. Let's both hope Mr.?twoclones? can use our discussion.
Most sincerely....me

We're a small company, 1 home location with 2 buildings, and 2 remote sales offices. When I came here five years ago I was given a dungeon office with a desk, a PC , and a bunch of misc junk. My domain server, routers and switches were in the telephone equipment room down the hall.

Since then my office has been completely remodeled.

I have a work bench with sufficient AC and network connections,
shelving for PCs, Monitors, and misc parts, and
a secure cabinet for the more critical parts and my installation CDs and licenses.

With the help of a Windows Server 2003 domain the only time I go to the telephone room is to reboot the voice mail's NT server.