What If We Work Together? Fostering Reflections on Designer Inclusion in Open Source Software Through Speculative Design
This paper employs speculative design through two fictional societies to provoke critical reflection among open source software practitioners, aiming to address the community's developer-centric mindset and foster a more inclusive environment for designers.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Imagine Open Source Software (OSS) as a massive, bustling construction site. For decades, this site has been run entirely by engineers and architects who are obsessed with making the building structurally sound, the plumbing work, and the electricity flow. They are brilliant at it. But because they are so focused on the "guts" of the building, they often forget to paint the walls, install comfortable door handles, or make sure the rooms are easy to navigate.
As a result, the building is incredibly powerful, but if you aren't an engineer, walking inside feels like trying to navigate a maze in the dark.
This paper asks: What if we invited the interior designers to the construction site?
The researchers found that designers want to help, but they feel unwelcome, confused by the tools, and often told their work isn't "real" work. To fix this, the researchers didn't just write a list of rules. Instead, they used a method called Speculative Design. Think of this as building two "What If?" time machines to show the construction crew two completely different futures, hoping to wake them up and make them think differently about how they work today.
The Two "What If?" Worlds
The researchers created two fictional societies to act as mirrors for our current reality:
1. The Hive (Husia): The Ultimate Team Huddle
Imagine a world where everyone is part of one giant, happy family. There are no "my" designs or "your" code; everything belongs to the group.
- How it works: When a new designer arrives, a friendly robot guide (the "Central Board") instantly shows them exactly what to do, matching them with tasks they are good at. They work in a high-tech room where the walls talk to them, reminding them of user needs.
- The Lesson: In this world, no one fights over who gets credit. The focus is purely on helping the community.
- The Reality Check: The researchers used this to show that while "giving credit" is important, the current system often makes designers feel invisible. But they also showed that if you remove credit entirely, some people might wonder, "Why should I work so hard?"
2. The Reputation City (Reetar): The High-Stakes Game
Now, imagine a world where your social status is a currency called "Reputation Points." You earn points by doing good work, and you lose them if you make mistakes.
- How it works: In this world, designers are essential because if the product looks bad, you lose points. Developers and designers have to work together closely because if they don't, their "score" drops. The system forces them to talk to each other.
- The Lesson: This world highlights that designers are currently undervalued. In this future, their work is the key to survival.
- The Reality Check: The researchers showed that while this system forces respect, it also creates a cutthroat environment where people might focus more on "scoring points" than actually helping each other.
What Happened When They Showed These Worlds?
The researchers invited 12 people who actually work on Open Source projects (7 designers and 5 developers) to visit these two worlds. They didn't just ask, "Do you like this?" They asked, "How does this make you feel about your current job?"
The result was a lightbulb moment for everyone. Here is what they realized:
- The "Open" Myth: Everyone thought Open Source was already open to everyone. But looking at these worlds, they realized, "Wait, the code is open, but the tools and processes are locked behind a wall of technical jargon that scares designers away."
- The Misunderstanding: Developers realized they often think designers just "make things pretty." The scenarios showed that design is actually about solving problems, just like coding.
- The Credit Crisis: Designers realized they feel unappreciated, but developers realized that without a way to track who did what, it's hard to know who deserves a "thank you."
The Takeaway: How to Fix the Construction Site
By looking at these extreme futures, the participants came up with practical ideas to make their current "construction site" better for designers:
- Build a Better Welcome Mat: Just like the "Central Board" in the Hive, projects need clear, simple guides for designers so they don't feel lost in the code.
- Give Designers a Seat at the Table: Don't wait until the building is finished to ask a designer to fix the doors. Let them help plan the blueprint from day one.
- Create a "Design GitHub": Developers have a system to track code changes. We need a similar system where designers can save, share, and update their drawings without losing their work.
- Say "Thank You" Loudly: When a designer fixes a user interface, the project should shout about it, just like they do when a developer fixes a bug.
The Bottom Line
The paper argues that you can't just tell people to "be nicer" or "work harder." You have to change the culture. By using these imaginative "What If?" stories, the researchers helped the Open Source community see their own blind spots. They realized that to build software that everyone can use, they need to stop treating design as an afterthought and start treating it as a core part of the team.
It's like realizing that a house isn't just a roof and four walls; it's a home. And to make it a home, you need both the engineers and the designers working together from the very first brick.
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