The Digital Playbook: A Crucial Counterpart To Your Design System - Related to love, 5, counterpart, digital, projects

5 tips for promoting your open source project

After months or years of hard work, you’ve just pushed your open source project to GitHub and made it public. Now it’s time to tell the world about it.

Chances are you’d rather spend time writing code than getting the word out about your project. Maybe your project will go viral and you won’t have to spend much time on marketing. But chances are you’re going to need to do some work to build awareness, at least in the early days. Fortunately, there are plenty of people who have been down this path and are willing to help. In this article, experienced maintainers offer their advice on sharing open source projects with the world.

Start with the obvious. Post to social media about your project. Submit it to Hacker News, Reddit, Product Hunt, and similar sites. Then keep an eye peeled for people who have the problem that you’re trying to solve. Respond to their posts and let them know you have a potential solution. Reach out to podcasts and YouTube channels. Submit talks to conferences. Offer to speak at meetups.

Keep promoting your work as you improve the project. Remember that people want to hear about helpful tools that solve real problems, as long as you’re genuinely trying to help, and not just spamming your followers. You might not be comfortable with self promotion, but you need to promote your work to get it out there. “You shouldn’t feel icky about it,” Sidecar maintainer Aaron Francis told us in a Q&A. “You put a lot of time into making something helpful.”.

Focus on the problem your project solves.

What should you say when you’re promoting your work? First and foremost, you need to know what problem your project solves and be able to communicate that to potential clients as simply as possible. “One of the biggest mistakes I see is the use of too much technical terminology,” says Chakra UI maintainer Segun Adebayo. It might be tempting to talk about the technologies you’ve built your solution upon, or the latest buzzwords you think clients might be interested in. Open source clients are, after all, often your fellow developers and technical people. But it’s easy to go overboard and obscure the value of the project.

For example, your project might make clever use of decentralized computing principles, points out Tasha Drew, co-chair for Kubernetes’ Working Group for Multi-tenancy, but what people really care about is why they should use it. “What’s the message you want people to take away from your webpage or your README? It’s probably not related to the theory behind the code,” she says.

Use that core message everywhere: Social media posts and profiles, blog posts, tutorials, etc.

Getting someone’s attention is only one part of the battle. If you want people to actually use, share, and contribute to your project, you need clear, up-to-date documentation. “Write as much as you can stand to write,” Francis says. Not only will it make your user experience more effective, it might even improve your code. “If you find it’s hard to document a particular feature, that’s probably a sign that it’s too complicated and you need to simplify it,” he explains.

Think beyond just documenting the code. You should provide things like quick starts, tutorials, and screencasts. “Video is really helpful for a lot of people,” Adebayo says. “People learn in different ways so it’s crucial to provide different types of content.”.

No matter how good your documentation is, people are still going to have questions—and, if you’re lucky, pull requests. It’s critical to be responsive, especially when you’re just starting out. “Time is finite, we only get one life, so value those people who are willing to spend some of their precious resources on you,” Francis says. “That applies not just to people sending pull requests, but to people pointing out problems or making suggestions on social media as well.”.

That doesn’t mean you have to be on call 24/7 to provide an immediate reply to every single question and comment. But it does mean you shouldn’t let pull requests, issues, and comments sit for too long without a response. You have to let people know your project is active, and that you value their input. “It might be intimidating at first to interact with people you don’t know, but you have to do it if you want to grow,” says Adebayo. “This is a sure way to meet new people and make new friends that might be helpful to you in the future.”.

You need to document both how to use your project, and how to contribute to it. Create [website] and [website] files with your contribution guidelines and code of conduct. These let potential contributors know that you’re open to contributions and that you’ve put some thought into working with others. It’s especially helpful to provide a list of what you would, and would not, like potential contributors to help with.

Remember that non-code contributions, like documentation, support, and graphic design, are a big part of any successful project. While these aren’t necessarily non-technical, you shouldn’t assume too much technical knowledge. “You want to make your language and project easy to understand so that people of various technical skill levels will be interested,” Drew says.

Also be sure to take advantage of the “Help wanted” and “Good first issue” labels. These can help people who are looking for ways to contribute find your project.

Get started contributing to open source now.

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Support the open source projects you love this Valentine’s Day

While everyone likes flowers and chocolates, why not show your love for your favorite open source projects this Valentine’s and give appreciation to the maintainers who keep them running?

Many of the open source projects we rely on every day are maintained by dedicated volunteers. Sponsoring projects isn’t just about altruism, it’s about investing in the future. Many maintainers work on open source projects in their spare time. Sponsorships can help them dedicate more time to the projects you depend on. With financial support, maintainers can help cover costs such as development and hosting.

When you sponsor a maintainer, you’re helping them continue their work and letting them know you value the creativity and love they’ve poured into their project. For this Valentine’s Day, let’s show love to the maintainers who keep our favorite projects alive and thriving.

Sponsorship is a tangible way to show support for the open source community. It can be a huge morale boost, as well as bring visibility and validation. Sponsored projects often gain more attention, leading to a virtuous cycle of more contributors and individuals, which results in advanced software for everyone.

Getting started: How to best invest in open source.

Identify critical dependencies: Review your project’s dependencies to identify which open source libraries and tools are crucial to your operations. If you use tools like npm, pip, or maven, you can review their dependencies and prioritize which are critical to your project’s success. Evaluate the project activity: Check the recent and trending activity of repositories and look for signs of contributions, shipped attributes, bug fixes, active maintenance, and community engagement. Helpful metrics like recent commits, issue resolution, and community engagement are all good markers for where funding could help. Projects with a high impact but low funding could be great candidates to prioritize for sponsorship. Engage with the project: Take the opportunity to look at the issues and contribution guidelines. Try to understand their funding needs and how your support makes a difference. But also consider investing in ways beyond just financial support. You could provide bug fixes if you feel confident in your code. You could also take the time to tell someone about the project and why you think it’s awesome.

Maintainers can show love for their sponsors as well. Sponsors appreciate knowing their contribution is making a difference. Whether it’s a simple mention on social media to acknowledge their contribution, featuring them on your GitHub Sponsors profile, -the-scenes insights about your project and community, or even a brief personalized thank-you message, tokens of appreciation can help bring more funding your way.

Shower our favorite open source projects with a little extra love.

This Valentine’s Day, let’s show our favorite projects a bit more appreciation. Whether it’s a heartfelt contribution to fix bugs or docs, spreading the word about why it’s a great project and helping people use it, or a sweet one-time donation, every bit helps keep our beloved digital world turning.

Ready to start sponsoring? Visit GitHub Sponsors and find the projects that matter most to you.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the open source contributors and supporters out there! And remember, you don’t need to wait for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day to show your appreciation for maintainers—every day is a perfect day to support open source! 💖.

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The Digital Playbook: A Crucial Counterpart To Your Design System

The Digital Playbook: A Crucial Counterpart To Your Design System.

Design systems play a crucial role in today’s digital landscape, providing a blueprint for consistent and user-friendly interfaces. But there’s another tool that deserves equal attention: the digital playbook. Design systems play a crucial role in today’s digital landscape, providing a blueprint for consistent and user-friendly interfaces. But there’s another tool that deserves equal attention: the digital playbook.

I in the recent past wrote for Smashing Magazine about how UX leaders face increasing pressure to deliver more with limited resources. Let me show you how a digital playbook can help meet this challenge by enhancing our work’s visibility while boosting efficiency.

While a design system ensures visual coherence, a digital playbook lays out the strategic and operational framework for how digital projects should be executed and managed. Here’s why a digital playbook deserves a place in your organization’s toolbox and what it should include to drive meaningful impact.

A digital playbook is essentially your organization’s handbook for navigating the complexities of digital work. As a user experience consultant, I often help organizations create tools like this to streamline their processes and improve outcomes. It’s a collection of strategies, principles, and processes that provide clarity on how to handle everything from website creation to content management and beyond. Think of it as a how-to guide for all things digital.

The UK Government Digital Service Manual is an excellent example of a playbook. (Large preview).

Unlike rigid rulebooks that feel constraining, you’ll find that a playbook evolves with your organization’s unique culture and challenges. You can use it to help stakeholders learn, standardize your work, and help everybody be more effective. Let me show you how a playbook can transform the way your team works.

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Have you ever faced challenges like these?

Stakeholders with conflicting expectations of what the digital team should deliver.

Endless debates over project priorities and workflows that stall progress.

A patchwork of tools and inconsistent policies that create confusion.

Uncertainty about best practices, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.

Let me show you how a playbook can help you and your team in four key ways:

It helps you educate your stakeholders by making digital processes transparent and building trust. I’ve found that when you explain best practices clearly, everyone gets on the same page quickly.

and building trust. I’ve found that when you explain best practices clearly, everyone gets on the same page quickly. You’ll streamline your processes with clear, standardized workflows . This means less confusion and faster progress on your projects.

. This means less confusion and faster progress on your projects. Your digital team gains more credibility as you step into a leadership role. You’ll be able to show your real value to the organization.

as you step into a leadership role. You’ll be able to show your real value to the organization. Best of all, you’ll reduce friction in your daily work. When everyone understands the policies, you’ll face fewer misunderstandings and conflicts.

But, no doubt you are wondering, what exactly goes into a digital playbook?

Every digital playbook is unique, but if you’ve ever wondered where to start, here are some key areas to consider. Let’s walk through them together.

Have you ever had people come to you too late in the process or approach you with solutions rather than explaining the underlying problems? A playbook can help mitigate these issues by providing clear guidance on:

How to request a new website or content upgrade at the right time;

What information you require to do your job;

What stakeholders need to consider before requesting your help.

By addressing these common challenges, you’re not just reducing your frustrations — you’re educating stakeholders and encouraging advanced collaboration.

Most digital projects can feel overwhelming without a clear structure, especially for stakeholders who may not understand the intricacies of the process. That’s why it’s essential to communicate the key phases clearly to those requesting your team’s help. For example:

Discovery : Explain how your team will research goals, user needs, and requirements to ensure the project starts on solid ground.

: Explain how your team will research goals, user needs, and requirements to ensure the project starts on solid ground. Prototyping : Highlight the importance of testing initial concepts to validate ideas before full development.

: Highlight the importance of testing initial concepts to validate ideas before full development. Build : Detail the process of developing the final product and incorporating feedback.

: Detail the process of developing the final product and incorporating feedback. Launch : Set clear expectations for rolling out the project with a structured plan.

: Set clear expectations for rolling out the project with a structured plan. Management : Clarify how the team will optimize and maintain the product over time.

: Clarify how the team will optimize and maintain the product over time. Retirement: Help stakeholders understand when and how to phase out outdated tools or content effectively.

I’ve structured the lifecycle this way to help stakeholders understand what to expect. When they know what’s happening at each stage, it builds trust and helps the working relationship. Stakeholders will see exactly what role you play and how your team adds value throughout the process.

Writing for the web isn’t the same as traditional writing, and it’s critical for your team to help stakeholders understand the differences. Your playbook can include practical advice to guide them, such as:

Planning and organizing content to align with user needs and business goals.

Crafting content that’s user-friendly, SEO-optimized, and designed for clarity.

Maintaining accessible and high-quality standards to ensure inclusivity.

By providing this guidance, you empower stakeholders to create content that’s not only effective but also reflects your team’s standards.

Helping stakeholders understand your audience is essential for creating user-centered experiences. Your digital playbook can support this by including:

Detailed user personas that highlight specific needs and behaviors.

Recommendations for tools and methods to gather and analyze user data.

Practical tips for ensuring digital experiences are inclusive and accessible to all.

By sharing this knowledge, your team helps stakeholders make decisions that prioritize clients, ultimately leading to more successful outcomes.

Stakeholders often are unaware of the wealth of resources that can help them improve their digital deliverables. Your playbook can help by recommending trusted solutions, such as:

Tools that enable stakeholders to carry out their own user research and testing.

Analytics tools that allow stakeholders to track the performance of their websites.

A list of preferred suppliers in case stakeholders need to bring in external experts.

These recommendations ensure stakeholders are equipped with reliable resources that align with your team’s processes.

Uncertainty about organizational policies can lead to confusion and missteps. Your playbook should provide clarity by outlining:

Accessibility and inclusivity standards to ensure compliance and user satisfaction.

to ensure compliance and user satisfaction. Data privacy and security protocols to safeguard user information.

to safeguard user information. Clear processes for prioritizing and governing projects to maintain focus and consistency.

By setting these expectations, your team establishes a foundation of trust and accountability that stakeholders can rely on.

Of course, you can have the best digital playbook in the world, but if people don’t reference it, then it is a wasted opportunity.

It falls to you and your team to ensure as many stakeholders as possible engage with your playbook. Try the following:

How often do stakeholders struggle to find crucial resources? Avoid hosting the playbook in a forgotten corner of your intranet. Instead, place it front and center on a well-maintained, user-friendly site that’s accessible to everyone.

How often do stakeholders struggle to find crucial resources? Avoid hosting the playbook in a forgotten corner of your intranet. Instead, place it front and center on a well-maintained, user-friendly site that’s accessible to everyone. Keep It Engaging.

Let’s face it — nobody wants to sift through walls of text. Use visuals like infographics, short explainer videos, and clear headings to make your playbook not only digestible but also enjoyable to use. Think of it as creating a resource your stakeholders will actually want to refer back to.

Let’s face it — nobody wants to sift through walls of text. Use visuals like infographics, short explainer videos, and clear headings to make your playbook not only digestible but also enjoyable to use. Think of it as creating a resource your stakeholders will actually want to refer back to. Frame It as a Resource.

A common pitfall is presenting the playbook as a rigid set of rules. Instead, position it as a helpful guide designed to make everyone’s work easier. Highlight how it can simplify workflows, improve outcomes, and solve real-world problems your stakeholders face daily.

A common pitfall is presenting the playbook as a rigid set of rules. Instead, position it as a helpful guide designed to make everyone’s work easier. Highlight how it can simplify workflows, improve outcomes, and solve real-world problems your stakeholders face daily. Share at Relevant Moments.

Don’t wait for stakeholders to find the playbook themselves. Instead, proactively share relevant sections when they’re most needed. For example, send the discovery phase documentation when starting a new project or share content guidelines when someone is preparing to write for the website. This just-in-time approach ensures the playbook’s guidance is applied when it matters most.

Creating a digital playbook might sound like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Begin with a few core sections and expand over time. Assign ownership to a specific team or individual to ensure it remains updated and relevant.

In the end, a digital playbook is an investment. It saves time, reduces conflicts, and elevates your organization’s digital maturity.

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