Drupal, one of the world’s most recognized CMSs (content management systems), is about to launch a new product, with UX (user experience) and user-centred design playing a critical role in this new phase. As the project’s UX lead, I want to share how planning and managing an open source product market launch proceeds, where most development is voluntary and contributors come from various parts of the world.
The new product, called Drupal CMS, is designed as an ideal solution for less complex projects, where many decisions are pre-defined to reduce complexity and accelerate time to market for web projects. The primary innovation lies in a system of “recipes” developed by industry experts. These recipes automatically configure a website and address specific functionalities such as data privacy and web analytics.
Users simply select the desired functionalities from a list, and the system automatically adapts them. Built on top of a standard Drupal installation, this solution enables any Drupal developer to enhance the Drupal CMS with custom developments to meet specific project needs once the basic functionalities are configured.
This approach not only reduces entry barriers for new users but also dramatically emphasizes usability and people-centric design, ensuring that the needs and wants of real users guide every decision, from initial conceptualization to technical execution. This approach is essential for ensuring project success in an environment as diverse as the Drupal community.
People-centric design on an open source project
People-centric design is based on a fundamental principle: the product must be developed with the user at the centre of all decisions. In an open source project like this, it entails understanding not only the end users who will engage with the product but also the volunteer developers and designers who contribute to its development.
In this process, we use techniques such as user research, interviews, JTBD (jobs to be done), and user flow maps to identify needs, frustrations, and objectives. This information serves as an excellent reference for creating a product that meets technical requirements and provides an intuitive and enjoyable experience.
Planning a free software product
The creation and launch of a new product with Drupal requires meticulous planning that encompasses several disciplines: product strategy, UX, design, development, and community management. Unlike proprietary projects, open source products like this one are primarily developed by volunteers from diverse fields.
One of the main challenges has been addressing the project definition within a strict schedule: only eight months from the announcement of Drupal CMS at DrupalCon in Portland in May 2024 to the launch in January 2025. This has forced us to simultaneously execute the initial ideation and goal-setting phase, including surveys, user interviews, and data analysis on Drupal’s current use, alongside product development.
The adopted strategy began with the creation of a roadmap designed to prioritize strategic functionalities for the new product. These priorities were based on accumulated experience and data analysis, focusing on the most utilized contributed modules outside of Drupal’s core. Once these were identified, they were assigned to track leads, who were tasked with defining requirements and overseeing the implementation.
Simultaneously, several hypotheses were validated through surveys and user interviews to ensure that the decisions made were aligned with actual needs. This iterative and collaborative approach has facilitated agile progress, unlocking key areas and providing functionality in an initial state of MVP (minimum viable product), which will be refined and expanded in future releases.
The collaboration between design and development
In a project like this, UX is not merely about creating attractive interfaces; it offers a cross-sectional perspective that extends through all project phases. The key to a free software open source project of this scale is seamless collaboration between designers and developers.
Ideally, developers would have begun implementation after testing the designs, but reality required starting before they were finalized to ensure functionality within the expected timeframe. In areas without new interfaces, developers analyzed existing solutions both within and outside the Drupal ecosystem, evaluating and aligning with the leadership team before implementing them.
Drupal has historically encountered challenges in involving designers, largely due to being a developer-driven project with complex tools like Git and the command line, which are inaccessible to non-technical users. This obstacle, combined with the system’s complexity, has curtailed design contributions and made it challenging to scale the definition and development of new interfaces from scratch.
Despite this, tools such as Figma and Slack have enabled asynchronous collaboration among designers from various time zones and specialties, diminished the necessity for constant meetings, and supported more efficient work that aligns with parallel projects designers may be undertaking.
Consequently, we have decided to adopt more iterative processes for much of the built-in functionality, ensuring that significant improvements will occur in the coming months. Work is currently underway to create a user testing plan that will validate usability with actual users, identifying issues and opportunities for adjustment. This approach will ensure that the project continually evolves to meet user needs and maintains a high quality level.
The challenges of an open, voluntary and global project
The voluntary nature of open source projects presents unique challenges. Collaborators, who can be both individuals and companies, contribute according to their availability, making it difficult to establish strict deadlines and ensure continuity. In a globally distributed community, ensuring effective communication and clear documentation is essential for facilitating contributions and maintaining project quality.
Adding new members to the project needs a substantial initial investment in training and mentoring. This investment aims to ensure that new participants grasp the tools, processes, and objectives, while also increasing the need to retain them to guarantee the project’s continued evolution and innovation.
An additional challenge lies in balancing the contributions of makers, who provide code, design, or other input, with the takers, who benefit from the project without contributing. Dries Buytaert notes that while many companies leverage Drupal to offer valuable products and services, only a small percentage reinvest in the project. This lack of reinvestment may limit the project’s ability to evolve at the pace demanded by the market.
Some strategies have been proposed to address this imbalance, such as creating incentives to acknowledge and encourage contributions, applying rules of reciprocity for beneficiary companies to contribute proportionately, and simplifying processes to enhance participation from individuals and organizations.
These measures are essential to guarantee the project’s sustainability and ensure that Drupal can continue to exemplify innovation and collaboration within the open source world. The balance between makers and takers is key to maintaining a vibrant community and a high-value product
Looking forward
The launch of Drupal CMS marks a new chapter for the community. We firmly believe that our human-centred design approach is moving us in the right direction.
The next steps involve testing with actual users to validate usability and identify areas for improvement. This iterative process will ensure the product continuously evolves to meet users’ needs.
In an increasingly connected and diverse world, human-centered design is not merely a methodology; it is a philosophy that enables us to further advance open source and reach more people. With the community’s collective effort, Drupal CMS not only promises to be a robust technical solution but also exemplifies how open source can meet the genuine needs of its users while remaining competitive and reliable.
References
BUYTAERT, Dries (2024). “Solving the Maker-Taker problem”. Dries Buytaert [online]. Available at: https://dri.es/solving-the-maker-taker-problem
Recommended citation: CHUMILLAS, Cristina. User-centric design in a global open source project like Drupal. Mosaic [online], January 2025, no. 202. ISSN: 1696-3296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7238/m.n202.2411
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