Open Stack

On Apr 23, 2014, at 8:13 AM, Jaromir Coufal <jcoufal at redhat.com> wrote:

> Dear OpenStack UX community and everybody else who is interested in OpenStack's user experience,
> 

Thanks very much for taking the time to write this up, Jarda. I think this would be an awesome list of topics to cover in the User Experience cross-project sessions scheduled for the Summit on Tuesday afternoon. What do others think? I’ll also add some thoughts below to start to drive the conversation further on this list.

> When there is more contributors appearing in time, I would like us to establish a formal process of how the UX work should be organized. Therefore I am suggesting a few tools below for us to be more effective, transparent and to provide a single way to all contributors so that it is easy for everybody to start, to contribute and to get oriented in our world.
> 
> 
> Wiki
> ----
> = introduction to OpenStack User Experience
> = how to contribute guide
> = documentation of processes
> = redirecting people to the right places of their interest (IRC, Launchpad, etc)

+1. It would be awesome to include some basics about using the mailing list for communication along with IRC and how to balance the two.

> 
> Mailing list - [UX]
> -------------------
> = discussions about various issues
> = openstack-dev mailing list, using [UX] tag in the subject
> "+" brings more attention to the UX issues
> "+" not separated from other OpenStack's projects
> "+" threading is already there (e-mail clients)
> "+" no need for setting up and maintaining additional server to run our own forum
> "-" requires to store attachments somewhere else (some other server)
>    ... similar case with current askbot anyway
> "-" requires contributors to register to the openstack-dev mailing list
>    ... each contributor should do that anyway

A big +1 to this. Currently there is a mailing list called openstack-personas that has been meant just for the persona effort, but I’ve been trying to get folks who have been involved in that effort to be sure to subscribe to this list and start generating any conversations that are pure UX here on the dev list instead of that personas mailing list. The personas mailing list was really just meant to kick off all of the work that would be done and then we’d bring high level details to this list anyways. Having more or less all UX conversations in one place makes way more sense to me.

> 
> Discussion forum - (terminate)
> ------------------------------
> "+" more interactive
> "+" easier for newcomers
> "-" separating UX outside the OpenStack world
> "-" we haven't found any other suitable tool for discussions yet (current AskBot is not doing very well)
> -> in order not to fragment discussions into multiple places, I am suggesting termination of current AskBot and keeping discussions in mailing list

Another idea would be to use the general OpenStack Askbot, but I agree it is yet another place to go to review things and the current way of using Askbot has been difficult to keep up with and follow active discussions. +1 to finding a way to use the mailing list efficiently for design reviews.

I’ve found that having a way to leave comments right inline on a design has been very helpful. Jacki and I have been using a tool called “Invision” to share our designs back and forth to get each others feedback and it has been great. I think there is also a tool called Review Board that is open source. Could be worth checking that out as a discussion tool? No matter what, we should work this into the Mailing List too so that folks know when feedback has been given.

> 
> IRC meetings
> ------------
> = regular meetings, each 2-3 weeks, short meeting, mostly dealing with organizational stuff and bringing attention on hot topics
> "+" brings people together
> "+" helps with UX organization
> "-" requires people to make a time for it
>    ... should be short though, so it shouldn't be big deal

Again, a huge +1 from me. I think this is the biggest thing that we are missing as a UX community. It will definitely help with organization and communication on who is actively working on what. Agreed they should be short and shouldn’t be a big time commitment to those who are active in UX in the community.

> 
> Launchpad (StoryBoard in the future)
> ------------------------------------
> = organization of UX work, overview of who is working on what, prioritizing stories, etc.
> "+" helps organizing work
> "+" helps documenting UX efforts
> "-" requires maintenance
>    ... the same way as for any other program

We need to figure out how our Launchpad blueprints relate to development blueprints. Maybe within StoryBoard there will be a way to link these in the future? I’ve worked on projects in the past using an Agile tool that allowed “predecessors” so the dev team knew that a design story was still being worked on and they would be notified when the design was ready for the implementation story to be taken on. Would it be possible to give a short demo of where StoryBoard is currently during the UX sessions at Summit? I know you’ve been pretty involved here.


> 
> Wishlist (currently Launchpad)
> ------------------------------
> = list of areas where other projects need a help from UX and UX person can take tasks
> "+" easy way of other teams how to interact with UX team when they look for a help
> "+" easy way for UXers to see areas where is a need for help

+1. There could also be a section on the wiki describing the process of contacting the UX team around work that is needed for components and adding items to the launchpad list.

> 
> Storage place (GitHUb)
> ----------------------
> = server where we can store temporary materials as well as final solutions
> -> github for permanent solutions (guidelines, final designs, …)?

I like this idea. I think we just need to try it out like we did with AskBot and see how it goes. How will GitHub handle the large files that designs produce? Will pure designers be able to fit Git into their workflow naturally? Where does UX fit into the larger OpenStack GitHub space if at all? These aren’t questions we need to answer now, just things I think we will discover by using it.

> 
> Templates library
> -----------------
> = library containing pre-prepared templates for UI designs (ready to use already designed elements, etc)
> "+" helps designers to produce designs easier by applying copy&paste methodology in the templates
> ... Should contain wireframes as well as visual designed elements
> ... Should be available for multiple applications (InDesign, Inkscape, etc)

+1. Maybe this could be a section on the wiki with just links to download the templates? It would be great to have a master sheet for the elements as we’ve done with our InDesign docs. Also, there shouldn’t be that many so I think links of the wiki might be feasible. Thoughts?

> 
> ??? (user community for feedback gathering)
> -------------------------------------------
> = tool for grouping people who are willing to give feedback on current UX in OpenStack
> 

Yes, this is really big. I’ve been thinking about how to keep track of the folks who have been giving feedback for the initial Horizon Usability Test we did and the persona research we’ve been doing. We need to keep identities protected to a certain degree, so I’m not sure the best way to go about this yet. 

I also wonder if we need a tool for Usability Testing and some guidelines around providing feedback based on testing. 

> 
> I am looking forward to hearing back from you with your feedback and opinions. If it seems to you like a good overview of how things can work, I will be happy to break it down into smaller pieces and make it happen so that we can start using all these tools as soon as possible.
> 
Thanks again!!
Liz

> 
> Thank you all
> -- Jarda
> 
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