Open Source Design

Ask: As developer of open source software, we want to improve the discover, try, buy experience for two products: OpenJ9 and OpenJDK.

Role: UX and Content Designer

Responsibilities: Mid & low-fi designs (mobile and desktop), ux writing, product copy, InVision prototypes, research, analysis, requirement gathering and project management

Outcome: A full redesign of each site that educates users on the available open source JDKs and JVMs, boosts the number of build downloads, and reduces user attrition and bounce rates.

Site Audit:

My approach to determining what changes would help us accomplish our redesign goals began with an evaluation of the ‘As-Is’ state of each site (see image 1). This evaluation included a full review all workflows, information architecture and interaction patterns, content/copy and visual elements. Once I completed both audits and synthesized my feedback into five categories (navigation, structure, content, interaction, and visual design), I presented my feedback to developers, architects, information designers, and senior level design managers for their feedback and review (see image 2). The issues that were surfaced in both site audits helped us align on goals for each site redesign.

Persona Development, Research, and Usability

The next step was to began formal research efforts which included identifying persona descriptions, customer goals and needs, and feedback from team leads and sponsor users. During this phase of the project, I worked with user researchers, to help identify questions that directly impacted the user experience, clarified user priorities as it relaters to open source technologies, and to defined a strategy to address larger project goals (see image 3). The methods we used to evaluate our personas (surveys, interviews, more usability tests, and scenario maps) helped us gain a clearer understanding of goals and needs of each user profile. Through our analysis of qualitative research and the use of stakeholder maps, we mapped specific user flows to particular personas, which helped us define key customer touchpoints that improved the overall user experience and addressed issues around content management and information architecture.

Based on feedback gathered through research, we gained the following insights:

• Users distrust software offerings that have over-designed product sites

• Having a lot of copy/marketing content on the site has little to no impact on discover, try, buy decisions

• Copy should be short, highlight specific aspects of the product that are both useful and unavailable/verifiable through other means (highly technical, case studies, etc…)

• Performance details are important when placed in context of comparison

• Clout is established by showing not only which companies are using the product, but also specific details about their org size, industry and how the product is solving a problem for that client

• Social networks are key points of discover, try, buy decisions (github, stack overflow, etc…)

• Open Source has greater value when there are support systems in place (online communities, bug fixes, consistently reliable builds, various platform/OS types…)

• Community engagement is an invaluable resource not only for FAQs, but also testing and evolving open source products

Once our analysis was complete and key insights were identified, we presented a research summary and provided key stakeholders with a list of recommendations (strategy and UX/UI).

User Experience, Interaction and Information Architecture

Tying the issues that we presented in our critique to customer feedback galvanized our stakeholders. To continue to drive conversations about specific design requirements, we then began documenting a timeline which included dates for ux and visual design iterations, hi-fi mock ups, red lines, and other key project deliverables. As the lead ux designer on these projects, I began sketching workflows and designing mockups based on user scenarios, requirements identified through usability testing, and user interviews. The images below highlight the homepage and key requirements addressed in each corresponding section (see image 4).

During this project, I learned a lot about the role of designing for open source. I learned that research is one of the greatest tools to move stakeholders to action when the way forward is unclear or out of alignment with the market, user needs and goals. I also learned that every engagement with a stakeholder requires designers to bring not just their A-game, but their A-to-Z game as well. Being a designer is about making meaning from chaos; but being a good designer is about organizing chaos, crafting meaningful user experiences, and bringing other stakeholders into the process. They are the gatekeepers. They are the first user that a designer must design for. Looking back on this project, I understand that designing a better experience for users is only accomplished when I am able to design the experience of collaborating with key stakeholders. When that happens, products and services take on new life.