ROI Case File No.323 | 'SceneCast's Invisible Friction'

Chapter 1: The Blind Spot of Placement—Moving Desks Changes Nothing

The week after the Frontier JTBD case was solved, a consultation arrived from Tokyo regarding productivity improvement at an office design company. Episode 323 of Volume 27, "The Pursuit of Reproducibility," tells the story of proving that spatial placement designs behavior.

"Detective, we're a company that supports office environment optimization. However, our own office is not optimized. Employees constantly voice complaints like 'can't concentrate' and 'meetings are difficult.' We tried changing desk placement, but nothing improved. Simply rearranging layout doesn't increase productivity."

Kenta Ishii, Operations Improvement Director at SceneCast Labs, a Shinagawa native, visited 221B Baker Street unable to hide his confusion. In his hands were office floor plans and, in stark contrast, internal survey results marked "no productivity improvement after placement changes."

"We provide office environment consulting in Tokyo. Founded 12 years ago. We optimize client company offices to improve productivity—that's our business. However, embarrassingly, our own office isn't functioning."

SceneCast's Office Challenges: - Established: 2013 (office environment consulting) - Annual revenue: ¥1.2 billion - Staff: 48 (Sales 12, Design 18, Construction Management 8, Management 10) - Office space: 280㎡ (Shinagawa office) - Problem: Focused work and dialogue work coexist, generating noise stress

Deep anguish over self-contradiction filled Ishii's voice.

"The problem is that desk placement doesn't align with work content. The design team wants to draw plans quietly, but sales team phones ring next door. The sales team wants frequent meetings, but conference rooms are far and take time to reach. And information transmission between teams is slow. Because departments are separated by hallways, simple confirmations take 5 minutes."

Typical Office Friction:

10:00 AM, Design Team Area:

Design Staff A (3rd year): Concentrating on creating floor plans. Drawing architectural plans with CAD software.

Suddenly, from the adjacent sales area:

Sales Staff B (loudly on phone): "Yes! That's right! We'll arrange for next Wednesday! Yes! Thank you!"

Design Staff A: "...(concentration breaks)"

Trying to return to floor plan creation, but now another sales person starts a call.

Sales Staff C: "Understood! Then, I'll send the estimate today!"

Design Staff A: "I can't anymore... can't concentrate"

Puts on headphones, continues working while listening to music. However, concentration doesn't fully return.

Result: Floor plan creation takes 1.5x normal time

Meanwhile, Sales Team Area:

Sales Staff D: "Mr. Ishii, I have something to confirm, do you have a moment?"

Ishii (across the hallway): "Can't right now. I'll come later."

Sales Staff D: "Understood..."

30 minutes later:

Sales Staff D: "Mr. Ishii, about that matter earlier..."

Ishii: "Ah, I forgot. What was it?"

5 minutes for confirmation, 3 minutes for round-trip movement, total 8 minutes lost

After lunch break, in front of conference room:

5 sales team members trying to hold a meeting.

Sales Staff E: "Huh, the conference room is being used..."

Checking reservation system: "Design team using until 2 PM"

Sales Staff E: "Then, let's have a standing talk at our seats"

5 people standing talk in sales area → Surrounding sales staff can't concentrate on work

Ishii sighed deeply.

"We propose to clients 'productivity increases if you change office placement.' But our own office isn't functioning at all. Six months ago we changed desk placement, but nothing changed. Simply moving desks is meaningless."

Chapter 2: The Illusion of Form—Placement Doesn't Design Behavior

"Mr. Ishii, what thinking drove the placement change six months ago?"

To my question, Ishii answered.

"The design team requested 'wanting to work in a quiet environment,' so we placed shelves between the sales and design teams to block sound. That's all."

Current Approach (Physical Blocking Type): - Measure: Install sound-blocking shelves - Problem: Sound decreased but information transmission was also blocked - Result: Different problems emerged

I explained the importance of space designing behavior.

"Changing placement is editing behavior. Scene-Cast theory—observe Scenes, design Cast (placement), measure Effect. This is how to increase productivity through space."

⬜️ ChatGPT | Concept Catalyst

"Don't move desks. Design behavior. Direct space with Scene-Cast."

🟧 Claude | Story Alchemist

"Changing environment is editing behavior. Placement creates stories."

🟦 Gemini | Compass of Reason

"Scene-Cast is spatial design technology. Direct work scenes in 3 stages: Scene, Cast (placement), Effect."

The three members began analysis. Gemini deployed the "Scene-Cast Theory Framework" on the whiteboard.

Scene-Cast's 3 Steps: 1. Scene: Observe work types, classify work scenes 2. Cast (placement): Rearrange desks, seats, equipment according to roles and purposes 3. Effect: Measure flow, conversation frequency, concentration time

"Mr. Ishii, let's redesign SceneCast's office using Scene-Cast theory."

Chapter 3: Discovery Through Observation—Four Work Scenes

Phase 1: Scene Classification (2 weeks)

First, we observed 48 employees' behavior over one week and classified work scenes.

Observation Method: - Record each employee's work content every 15 minutes (1 week) - Measure volume level during work - Record communication frequency with other departments

Classification Results: Four Work Scenes:

Scene 1: Deep Focus - 32% - Target: Design team (18 people) - Work content: CAD floor plan creation, design document creation, 3D modeling - Required environment: Quiet, enclosed space, large monitors - Average work time: Continuous 2-3 hours - Current problem: Concentration breaks from sales calls

Scene 2: Short Focus - 28% - Target: Sales team (12 people), Management team (10 people) - Work content: Estimate creation, document creation, email handling - Required environment: Moderate activity, immediately conversable distance - Average work time: Continuous 30 minutes-1 hour - Current problem: Conference rooms far, movement required for each meeting

Scene 3: Dialogue - 24% - Target: All teams - Work content: Meetings, brainstorming, project reviews - Required environment: Whiteboards, standing talk space - Average time: 15-30 minutes - Current problem: Only 3 conference rooms, reservations unavailable

Scene 4: Quick Sync - 16% - Target: All teams (interdepartmental) - Work content: Brief confirmations, progress reports, questions - Required environment: Immediately callable distance (within 5m) - Average time: 3-5 minutes - Current problem: Departments separated, movement takes time

Phase 2: Current Flow Analysis (1 week)

We measured employees' daily movement distance.

Measurement Results: - Sales staff daily movement distance: Average 420m (desk → conference room → design team → desk round trip) - Design staff daily movement distance: Average 180m (desk → conference room → sales team → desk) - Conference room utilization rate: 82% (somewhere always occupied) - Standing talk locations: Hallway (40%), own desk (35%), break room (25%)

Problem Points: - Insufficient conference rooms, standing talks occur in desk areas → Impedes concentration - Interdepartmental distance far, simple confirmations take time

Chapter 4: Placement as Direction—Designing Behavior Through Four Zones

Phase 3: Cast (Placement) Redesign (1 month)

We divided the office into four zones corresponding to the four work scenes.

New Office Layout:

Zone 1: Focus Zone - 80㎡ - Target: Design team (18 people) - Placement: Individual booths, 160cm high partitions, soundproofing materials - Equipment: Large monitors, headphones, dimmable lighting - Rules: Phone calls prohibited, conversation minimal

Zone 2: Active Zone - 70㎡ - Target: Sales team (12 people), Management team (10 people) - Placement: Island desks, low partitions (100cm high) - Equipment: Phones, printers, whiteboards - Rules: Phone calls OK, short meetings OK

Zone 3: Dialogue Zone - 60㎡ - Target: All teams - Placement: Standing talk tables (100cm high) × 5, whiteboards × 3, sofa seating × 2 sets - Equipment: Projector, large monitor - Rules: No reservation needed, 15-minute meetings recommended

Zone 4: Sync Zone - 70㎡ - Target: Interdepartmental information transmission - Placement: Installed between design and sales teams, counter seating - Equipment: Shared monitors, task boards - Rules: Confirmations under 5 minutes done here

Placement Points:

1. Complete separation of Focus Zone and Active Zone

2. Dialogue Zone in between blocks sound

3. Dialogue Zone placed centrally

4. Accessible in 5 seconds from all teams

5. No conference room reservation needed, immediate meetings at standing talk tables

6. Sync Zone between design and sales teams

7. Simple confirmations possible without leaving desk area

Phase 4: Effect Measurement (3 months)

After placement changes, we measured effects.

Measurement Results After 3 Months:

Flow Reduction: - Sales staff daily movement distance: 420m → 180m (57% reduction) - Design staff daily movement distance: 180m → 80m (56% reduction) - Interdepartmental confirmation time: Average 8 min → average 2 min (75% reduction)

Conversation Frequency Changes: - Interdepartmental conversation frequency: Daily average 3 times → daily average 8 times (+167%) - Standing talk table usage: Daily average 42 times - Conference room utilization rate: 82% → 45% (shifted to dialogue zone)

Concentration Time Increase: - Design team continuous work time: Average 90 min → average 150 min (+67%) - Design team "concentration broken" frequency: Daily average 8 times → daily average 2 times (75% reduction)

Productivity Improvement: - Floor plan creation average time: 8 hours → 5.5 hours (31% reduction) - Estimate creation average time: 2 hours → 1.5 hours (25% reduction) - Overall project deadline adherence rate: 72% → 88% (+16 points)

Chapter 5: The Power of Direction—Organizational Change After 12 Months

Results After 12 Months:

Productivity Metrics: - Projects completed: Monthly average 18 → monthly average 24 (+33%) - Overtime hours: Monthly average 28 hours → monthly average 18 hours (36% reduction) - Employee satisfaction: 3.2/5 → 4.5/5

Financial Results: - Annual revenue: ¥1.2 billion → ¥1.4 billion (+17%) - Investment: Office renovation cost ¥4.8 million - Investment recovery period: 3.8 months

Employee Voices:

Design Staff A: "Previously, sales calls broke my concentration. Even with headphones, I couldn't completely block it. But now I can work quietly in the focus zone. Floor plan creation time decreased by 30%."

Sales Staff B: "Previously, I walked to the design team's desks for simple confirmations. But with the sync zone, I can talk with the design team immediately. Confirmations became faster, and responses to customers also became faster."

Ishii's Summary:

"Before applying Scene-Cast theory, we only thought about 'moving desks.' If we moved the design team to a quiet place, they could concentrate, we thought.

However, that was wrong. What's important was observing 'what work scenes exist' and designing 'placement appropriate for those scenes.'

For scenes requiring concentration, enclosed space. For scenes requiring dialogue, immediately gatherable places. For scenes requiring information transmission, zones connecting departments.

Changing placement is editing behavior. I understood that Scene-Cast is not a theory for changing space, but a framework for directing work scenes."

Deployment to Clients:

SceneCast began proposing Scene-Cast theory proven in-house to client companies.

A Manufacturing Client: "We toured your office. Focus zone, dialogue zone, sync zone... Wonderful design. Could we apply this to our factory?"

Ishii: "Of course. First, let's observe your factory's work scenes. Assembly work, inspection work, adjustment work... We'll design appropriate placement for each."

After 6 months, that client's factory: - Work efficiency: +22% - Work errors: -40% - Worker satisfaction: 3.5/5 → 4.3/5

SceneCast's revenue further expanded through such client results.

Chapter 6: The Detective's Diagnosis—Placement Creates Stories

That night, I reflected on the essence of Scene-Cast theory.

SceneCast had simply moved desks. However, that changed nothing.

By observing work scenes through Scene-Cast theory and designing placement, behavior changed. When concentration is needed, to the focus zone. When dialogue is needed, to the dialogue zone. Employees naturally began moving to appropriate places.

"Changing environment is editing behavior. Scene-Cast transforms space into story."

The next case will also depict the moment when placement designs behavior.

"Don't move desks, design behavior. Observe Scene, design Cast (placement), measure Effect. Placement creates work stories."—From the detective's notes

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