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Really happy to share https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/ux-research-design/ !

Back in 2020, during grant-funded work on the next-generation pip resolver, @sprblm did fascinating user experience research & design work. https://pyfound.blogspot.com/search/label/pip

They wrote several useful documents that took a while to get merged, but now live in pip's documentation! Like:

how to design a survey https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/ux-research-design/guidance/#designing-surveys

how users think pip should react to dependency conflicts https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/ux-research-design/research-results/override-conflicting-dependencies/

security practices https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/ux-research-design/research-results/users-and-security/


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in reply to Sumana Harihareswara

Sumana Harihareswara
Sumana Harihareswara
• •

It was so valuable to get to work with UX experts on pip. Example: https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/8377 their research findings helped us improve the format and content of the "ResolutionImpossible" error message, so users could actually work out what went wrong and how to fix it.

There's a wealth of information in the resources that Superbloom (formerly Simply Secure) developed.

Not just for for Python packaging tools developers! For anyone working on developer experience, especially on the command line!


ResolutionImpossible error message · Issue #8377 · pypa/pip

This ticket is work in progress. What is the user story As a pip user when pip can't resolve package dependencies, I need it to help me find a solution, so that I can install the packages I require...
GitHub
in reply to Sumana Harihareswara

Sumana Harihareswara
Sumana Harihareswara
• •

The thing I want to shout from the rooftops is: THIS IS POSSIBLE.

#opensource projects can hire UX experts, who gather quantitative & qualitative data, and who then recommend specific choices. Maintainers don't just have to guess how to design good, usable features and interfaces.

Yes, even for command-line tools.

Yes, even without a big company running the project. We got grants: https://pyfound.blogspot.com/2019/12/moss-czi-support-pip.html

And tool*chains* can pool resources to invest & learn together! https://www.harihareswara.net/posts/2023/user-support-equanimity-potential-cross-project-tools-practices-open-source/


Mozilla and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to support pip

The Python Software Foundation is receiving $407,000 USD to support work on pip in 2020. Thank you to Mozilla (through its Mozilla ...
Python Software Foundation Blog
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