Since June 2025, I’ve been collaborating with designers, engineers, and other stakeholders in the Fedora Project to help bring the migration from Pagure to Forgejo closer to completion, while also basing our practices on community engagement and full transparency. On Dec. 4, 2024, the Fedora Council announced its plan to migrate the Git forge to Forgejo.
First, I want to make it clear that everything I’m discussing here is unique to my time volunteering with the Fedora Project. I’m not claiming that these conclusions apply to every open-source project. Each one varies depending on the scale, governance model, and infrastructure of the team you’re working with.
Reflecting on my experience working on UX for open source so far, I’ve learned that being a UX designer in this space is often far messier than working on commercial products, but just as rewarding. Having the experience of conducting UX in a less structured, more community-driven environment makes the process and outcomes highly transferable to commercial or proprietary settings.
Right off the bat, here are a few realities I’ve had to face in the open-source world:
Democratic and consensus-based governance. Unlike commercial teams, where leadership typically sets policies and direction, open-source projects like Fedora rely on community-elected bodies, both the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee (FESCo) and the Fedora Council, to make decisions based on consensus. Although Fedora is an upstream project for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora makes its own technical choices. Designers who thrive on clear authority or centralized decision-making may find this environment challenging.
Evolving views on AI participation. Many organizations are still defining where AI fits into creative and technical workflows. Block Inc., for example, has taken a more restrictive stance, stating that all job applicants must “complete all interviews independently and without assistance from others or AI-based tools such as GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT.” Canva, by contrast, promotes a more permissive policy, even publishing an article on Canva.dev titled Yes, You Can Use AI in Our Interviews. In fact, we insist.
Open-source projects, including Fedora, are now facing similar questions about how AI fits into their workflows. In my ongoing case study, I’ve been exploring a more cautious approach, similar to Block’s, by disclosing when and how AI models are used in my contributions. This practice is intended to promote transparency and maintain community trust.
While organizations may look to industry leaders for guidance on AI, I believe the key is translating broad trends into practices that make sense for your own team and context. My goal isn’t to challenge or override existing frameworks, but to model responsible experimentation in open, collaborative environments — an approach that can be adapted to similar models.
Process out in the open. Get used to having many of your stakeholder replies and next-step updates visible to the public. This level of transparency is a radical shift from corporate environments, where conversations and meeting notes typically remain internal.
In Fedora’s case, you can see the progress in real time on the project’s GitLab page and issue tracker. This openness is at the heart of Fedora’s culture. Just as the code is open, so are the updates, discussions, and roadmap.
Next Steps — Release of Phase 1
In my case study so far, I mention my early ideation and user personas, which refocused our efforts toward serving the verified needs of our community, rather than focusing on general components of design. This more evidence-based approach then allowed us to agree on a more optimized solution, with repository search as the main focus.
I led the evaluation of existing wireframes and proposed alternative solutions to prioritize the repository search, balancing community needs with development feasibility. This exercise allowed team members to evaluate ideas based on scalability, cost, and alignment with migration goals. The reason for buy-in toward the small solution is that, after speaking with one of the developers, repository search was identified as a must-have.
The small solution wireframe, with repository search, has been handed off for development. At this point, the priority is to develop this new landing page using existing UI components. I am still planning the scope for a working prototype, while user interviews with community members are in the planning stages.
Since I first published my case study, my stance on AI has changed slightly. The main reason is I realized that as long as proprietary models like ChatGPT are only used to proofread and touch up research plans, the risk is lower than using AI tools to generate UX deliverables without human intervention. Using AI tools solely for generating wireframes remains a gray area. For the recently created script for the prototype feedback, I added the line “Assisted by: ChatGPT4.”
Overall, it has been a more enriching experience to continue helping with the large-scale initiative to migrate to Forgejo, and it is a process I am happy to share as a complement to my NDA-protected work done for commercial enterprises. Thanks for reading.
