User Experience and Open Source Software

We explore the importance of good user experience (UX) in open source software with Máirín "Mo" Duffy from Red Hat. Sharing her journey from an OG Linux contributor to her studies in Human-Computer Interaction, Moe highlights how her academic and professional path has been shaped by the intent to make open source software more accessible and user-friendly. She shares the unique challenges of integrating UX practices into open source development, the relationship between software developers and UX designers, and the impact of UX on software usability and adoption. Moe discusses her work on Podman Desktop, a tool aimed at simplifying Kubernetes environments for developers, and emphasizes the significance of education and accessibility in open source tools for the next generation of developers. The conversation also touches on the potential roles and benefits of AI in enhancing UX and solving human-centric problems within technology. 00:00 Welcome to KubeCon Fishbowl: A Dive into UX in Open Source01:06 The Journey from Linux Enthusiast to UX Pioneer04:20 Embracing Open Source Tools for Accessible Design05:57 The Unique Challenges of UX Design in Open Source08:57 Podman Desktop: Bridging Developers and Kubernetes15:33 Exploring the Impact of Cloud Native Training on New Graduates16:29 The Power of UX in Open Source Development17:47 Practical Steps to Start in UX Design20:28 The Role of UX in Software Development and Adoption26:17 Leveraging AI for UX Design and Beyond Guest: Máirín "Mo" Duffy is a Sr. Principal Interaction Designer at Red Hat. A recipient of the O’Reilly Open Source Award, Máirín has over 15 years of expertise in UX & design working upstream in FLOSS communities. Her portfolio is wide-ranging, from OS management tools; to OS infra UIs; to the cloud-based medical image processing project, ChRIS; to the developer-oriented Podman Desktop. She has an M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction and a B.S. in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.