[openstack-dev] How to best make User Experience a priority in every project

Thierry Carrez thierry at openstack.org
Wed Nov 20 15:09:44 UTC 2013


Hi everyone,

How should we proceed to make sure UX (user experience) is properly
taken into account into OpenStack development ? Historically it was hard
for UX sessions (especially the ones that affect multiple projects, like
CLI / API experience) to get session time at our design summits. This
visibility issue prompted the recent request by UX-minded folks to make
UX an official OpenStack program.

However, as was apparent in the Technical Committee meeting discussion
about it yesterday, most of us are not convinced that establishing and
blessing a separate team is the most efficient way to give UX the
attention it deserves. Ideally, UX-minded folks would get active
*within* existing project teams rather than form some sort of
counter-power as a separate team. In the same way we want scalability
and security mindset to be present in every project, we want UX to be
present in every project. It's more of an advocacy group than a
"program" imho.

So my recommendation would be to encourage UX folks to get involved
within projects and during project-specific weekly meetings to
efficiently drive better UX there, as a direct project contributor. If
all the UX-minded folks need a forum to coordinate, I think [UX] ML
threads and, maybe, a UX weekly meeting would be an interesting first step.

There would still be an issue with UX session space at the Design
Summit... but that's a well known issue that affects more than just UX:
the way our design summits were historically organized (around programs
only) made it difficult to discuss cross-project and cross-program
issues. To address that, the plan is to carve cross-project space into
the next design summit, even if that means a little less topical
sessions for everyone else.

Thoughts ?

-- 
Thierry Carrez (ttx)



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