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Working in the open
Working in open source transforms the design process from shipping features to designing transparently with community feedback, public roadmaps, and long-term stewardship.
What: An essay exploring how open source work (specifically on projects like Open Data Kit) fundamentally changes the design and development process, emphasizing transparency, public collaboration, community feedback, and long-term maintenance over rapid feature delivery.
Why it matters: This highlights a fundamental difference between open source and traditional product development: open collaboration forces clarity, accountability, and inclusive decision-making, while the "un/learning loop" approach—slowing down to learn in public and embrace uncertainty—produces better outcomes in complex environments.
Takeaway: Consider adopting transparent workflows like public roadmaps and open design processes, even in closed-source projects, to improve decision-making through community accountability.
Deep dive
- Open source design work extends beyond feature delivery to include transparent collaboration, public accountability, and long-term impact considerations
- Public roadmaps and constant community feedback create forcing functions for clearer thinking and better decision-making
- The "un/learning loop" concept advocates slowing down, staying open to uncertainty, and learning publicly rather than rushing to solutions
- Close collaboration with actual users throughout the design process leads to more inclusive and contextually appropriate solutions
- Stewardship—maintaining and evolving systems responsibly—takes priority over shipping speed in open source contexts
- Transparency and public work create accountability that improves design quality, particularly in high-stakes or complex environments
- Working openly requires developing comfort with uncertainty and iterating based on community input rather than internal assumptions
Decoder
- ODK (Open Data Kit): An open-source platform for mobile data collection, often used in humanitarian and research contexts
- un/learning loop: A design approach emphasizing continuous learning and unlearning through public iteration, uncertainty, and community feedback rather than linear execution
Original article
Working in open source—especially on large-scale projects like ODK—pushes designers beyond simply shipping features toward designing transparently, collaborating closely with users, and thinking long-term about maintenance and impact. Open collaboration, public roadmaps, and constant community feedback improve decision-making while forcing clarity, accountability, and trust. A key lesson is embracing the “un/learning loop”: slowing down, staying open to uncertainty, and learning in public leads to better, more inclusive solutions—especially in complex or high-stakes environments—while prioritizing stewardship over speed.
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