Designer’s lives: What might make designers leave an OSS project and how might they want to exit an OSS project

[Erioldoesdesign]

The designers of the diary study had many challenges, mostly centering around communications, delegation, project/product management and the value of their work compared to time invested by them.

As stated in the communications and feedback sections many designers experienced the most difficulties when trying to communicate the design purpose, gain effective feedback or approval and work within time limits without much design support or working solo.

There were moments that some individuals seemed to be in extreme despair, where they were unable to receive help from fellow designers, unable to receive clear understandable and actionable feedback from developers/maintainers, and when working with a big OSS project team where discussions seemed to circle without clear understanding of what the design required in order to progress. This led to the designer being concerned “I don't feel safe to continue doing some things if no one responds and it turns into a bad cycle. We all waste time and (work will have to be) done again many things (have) already (been) done before". They then go on to make a proposal to the OSS project team where everyone in the OSS project proffers an answer. This situation is common in OSS projects where there are many participants and a lack of decision making governance. When absent, it typically becomes the added responsibility of the designer to aggregate and make sense of feedback as best they can, which could explain why many of the designers in our diary study spent much of their time on communications.

Designers often expressed disappointment when all of their time was spent on annotating specific details of a design artifact or document (e.g. This button in a UI does X, this usability study means that we know X about users etc.) or justifying why design should be done in the OSS, and no time was spent producing those artifacts or documents that directly contribute to design of the OSS in a given week.
“Sometimes I wish I did proper design, not just talk about design. I get that it's part of the contributions, but I would love to work on projects as a designer.” Here you see the designer is aware of the necessity of communicating the purpose of design and clarifying design artifacts, but is fatigued by the consistent need to explain why and how design is done and what it improves.

Similarly, when a designer wastes time, they are frustrated as they know how precious the resource of time is “(I was) missing an InDesign file and wasted about 6 hours of my time (editing files in acrobat)”. This problem was shared by other designers about other tools they were asked to work in due to the choices of the OSS.

We asked a question to our designers not often asked to any OSS contributor. We asked how they’d like to leave a project and how they would like the design aspects to look when they leave. The designers in our study found this a confrontational question and particularly difficult given they don’t have a clear sense of who else in the community could continue their OSS contribution work, if there was anybody at all that could continue. Designers are a rare (but growing) resource in OSS and this is reflected in the answers to these questions which was largely described as a difficult question.

• Designers want seven things to be present before they leave an OSS project:

• The design work is done and continues to be done in open design software (so not proprietary closed software such as Adobe). However, these open source design tools are stated as "not as good as closed tools"

• The design is left in a way that other people can pick up and understand

• To leave the OSS in "a better place" in terms of design (this would be unique and specific to each OSS)

• To ensure that the OSS maintainers know how and what was done and the project is handed over slowly and carefully. Do not “ghost" and help knowledge be sustained

• To know the design will change after you"ve gone. OSS is about sharing and being willing to accept changes

• To plan the structure for the OSS to not just recognise design contributions but document them well too

• To inspire designers to get involved in the OSS

Most designers expressed a desire to never fully leave an OSS project and they would ideally stay on in an advisor role and be able to answer questions when needed. For many, participation in OSS was an ethical or socially motivated reason. In answering this question they wanted it to be known that they would never be truly "gone" from OSS.