| I asked on the extremeprogramming group, and got a number of suggestions. These answers are gleaned from that thread and others. |
(Assume any non-generic name is trademarked.) Some things have links. These are either to the manufacturer or to a store that has them. I’m not particularly recommending any store; they were just convenient to link to.
Room Setup
- Computers
- Hub, cabling
- Power strips
- Cord concealer
- Whiteboard on wall (preferably that can take magnets)
- Wall space
- Pin board
- Pocket chart (holds rows of index cards)
- Whiteboard on wheels (large)
- Whiteboard on wheels (narrow, 2′)
- Bookcase / bookshelf
- Extra chairs
- Coat rack
- Clock
- Small moveable table
- Lighting (e.g., attractive lamps)
- LCD projector
- Fountain (esp. in winter when the air is dry)
- Fan
Food
- Chocolate
- Nuts (unsalted?)
- Healthy snacks
- Altoids in assorted flavors
- Sugarless chewing gum
- Coffee, brown sugar
- May want to avoid snacks, some folks can’t resist
Toys
- Koosh balls
- Nerf balls
- Checker pieces
- Tabletop games like Carcassonne or AD&D
- Fidget toys, e.g., steel ring puzzles
- P-brains (figurines with swappable “brains”)
- May want to avoid toys, depending on culture
Supplies
- Post-it notes: flags, small, index-card-size, flipchart-sized
- Index cards, various sizes. But avoid hard-to-read colors.
- Tissues, hand sanitizer
- Nametags for chairs (but some found them just not worth it)
- Magnets
- Pens, pencils
- Multi-color Sharpies
- Notebooks or journals
Miscellaneous
- Talking stick
- Materials loosely related to project (e.g., magazine articles, textbooks)
- Books with right attitude to programming (e.g., Refactoring)
- Books on the next big thing (technology)
- Exercise device
- Kitchen timer
- Snapshots, room ornamentation
- Big visible charts
- Flowers
- Digital camera, Whiteboard Photo software
Thanks to the contributors to the thread for their suggestions: Chris Wheeler, Doug Swartz, Will Stott, Todd Sedano, JB Rainsberger, Ilja Preuss, William Pietri, Phlip, Jeff Nielsen, John Carter, Laurent Bossavit, and Kent Beck!
[Summarized ~March, 2005. Added Ilja Preuss’ suggestions, May ’05.]