Tweets from a conversation on the morning of March 30, 2012.

Also Exquisite Tweets.

  1. ajturner: are there any good resources in how to develop good UX for open-source projects? Working code is valid or not, but designs are never "done"
  2. wonderchook: @ajturner do you have a favorite open-source project with a good interface not designed by a company? purely community?
  3. ajturner: @wonderchook see discussion from Mike's blog and the numerous attempts on an improved User page. Great ideas, but is it just "code wins"?
  4. huslage: @ajturner @wonderchook design by committee rarely works. Someone needs to decide and be trusted to do the right thing.
  5. iandees: @ajturner @wonderchook Might be code wins now, but it's incremental changes towards something better (or at least different).
  6. wonderchook: @iandees I'm just curious at communities that have successful approachs to see how we might improve /cc @ajturner
  7. ajturner: @iandees but look at the front-page UI discussion. What is the path of this incremental change? optimization or extinction :)
  8. ajturner: @wonderchook good question - what are the best examples of great UX in purely open-source projects?
  9. tmcw: @iandees @ajturner @wonderchook Usability comes first, then design. For traditional sites, ux can be iterative and code-first.
  10. wonderchook: @ajturner @iandees is there something to be said about ripping the band-aid off?
  11. iandees: @wonderchook @ajturner I don't think anyone has spent enough time discussing front page design. Many arguments/pet projects, though.
  12. ajturner: @iandees is there an osm-design mailing list or group?
  13. mhaklay: @ajturner @wonderchook Look at http://t.co/iav9LiAg - but generally OS projects have a problem - see http://t.co/UZ4bAlMW !
  14. iandees: @ajturner http://t.co/jDv8yu7R was started after discussions at SotM 2011. Lost some steam after a while though. /cc @migurski @tmcw
  15. tmcw: @ajturner fwiw, the purely open-source distinction isn't very useful. What's an example of a purely open-source project with a UI at all?
  16. nacin: @tmcw @ajturner You rang? :-)
  17. tmcw: @nacin @ajturner Turner's distinction was (afaik) that there was no money/company/designer involved, aka @automattic
  18. richardf: @mhaklay @ajturner @wonderchook Perhaps, but OSM's problem is we listen, we just don't have the developer manpower to change things
  19. nacin: @ajturner @wonderchook WordPress may not have "great UX," but certainly better than most. And developed by a community, not a company.
  20. ajturner: @nacin I agree that Wordpress is a great example. Most have a org structure to dictate though? E.g. Firefox
  21. wonderchook: @richardf @mhaklay @ajturner there are ways to buy people's time, but I'm not sure that is what most want
  22. ajturner: @richardf @mhaklay it's not the manpower. We're willing to work on it but exactly point that I want to be effective with my free time
  23. nacin: @tmcw @ajturner But obviously I agree @automattic helps matters quite a bit. Many projects have companies w/ vested interests in success.
  24. ajturner: @nacin same for OSM, but slight difference is that there are no "leads" other than operations. no single company at head or design leads
  25. HeatherLeson: @ajturner @wonderchook want a 2-stage map process. 1. Serious osm mapper 2. Very simple Widget for basemap users to send changes to SOM
  26. wonderchook: @HeatherLeson yes, the one thing that really needs to be thought out is fixing bugs versus adding missing info. Fixing is hard! @ajturner
  27. richardf: @ajturner So what's stopping you (serious question)? I'd love more developer hands to make P2 more approachable.
  28. HeatherLeson: @wonderchook @ajturner I would advocate a "fix the basemap report button or link" within @ushahidi . Meet you 1/2 way. Other OSM fans likely
  29. ajturner: @HeatherLeson I'd love to see a small JS widget for other devs to include. Loads a toolset and OSM basemap.
  30. wonderchook: @HeatherLeson there is #openstreetbugs or #mapdust already, though people don't seem enthusiasm to fix those types of reports @ajturner
  31. sgillies: @tmcw @ajturner And is good UI a property of proprietary software at all? Almost never. (generations of Windows programs, etc)
  32. wonderchook: @sgillies @tmcw @ajturner weren't saying proprietary makes it good, just not design by committee helps
  33. nacin: @ajturner You may be interested in http://t.co/wvZ7VDx6, http://t.co/Ctnt2UDW. We are very serious about those. Projects need values.
  34. ajturner: @nacin those are really useful, thx. Similar to Rails' "Convention over Configuration" that provides for elegant Dev UX