Config Dev Community Event Panel Discussion

Introductions (0s)

• N is a VP of Engineering at GitHub, based in San Francisco, and has been with the company for six and a half years. (29s)
• Yaga is a researcher on the customer research team at GitHub, has been with the company for two years, and conducts research for Copilot and S. (59s)
• Skyler Anderson is a principal product designer at GitHub, based in San Diego, and has been with the company for a little over two years. (1m21s)
• Rachel leads the design infrastructure team at GitHub, is based in Austin, Texas, and has been with the company for about two years. (1m50s)

Collaboration techniques across the GitHub team (2m22s)

• A company principle of "better together" emphasizes the importance of strong collaboration between engineering, product, and design teams. (2m30s)
• One tactic used to facilitate collaboration is "demos not memos," where work in progress is shared through videos or Slack videos to gather feedback and ensure alignment, especially in an asynchronous work environment. (3m9s)
• GitHub, as a platform that fosters open source, naturally lends itself to collaboration, and its use within the company further promotes this. (4m10s)

Using GitHub to build GitHub (5m25s)

• GitHub is used to build GitHub, which allows designers and developers to leverage their colleagues' experiences and data to understand important aspects of the development process. (5m44s)
• Shipping to staff before customers provides early feedback and highlights critical issues, fostering a culture of openness and honesty. (6m0s)
• While easy access to actionable data can streamline the design process, it's crucial to collaborate with product and research teams to ensure a broader perspective beyond GitHub's internal developers. (6m31s)

How we keep customers at the center of our work (7m6s)

• A customer research team gathered feedback from 76,100 customers, with 4500 participating in AI research. (7m35s)
• To handle the large volume of research, a customer panel with 4,000 participants was created, along with self-serve resources and office hours to enable teams to conduct their own research. (8m4s)
• An inclusive research program was launched in collaboration with the design team, growing from 5 to 150 participants with disabilities to provide feedback on features like the list view component. (9m55s)

What skills do designers need to work with AI effectively? (10m59s)

• Designers need to develop an intuition for how AI models work, which can be achieved by using them extensively in contexts relevant to their domain. (11m20s)
• Designers should leverage traditional design skills, such as collaborating with product and research teams, to identify and validate valuable problems to solve with AI. (12m42s)
• It's crucial for designers to take ownership of the outcomes of their AI-driven designs, ensuring they effectively address the intended problems and are not merely novelties. (13m59s)

The role of research in responsible AI development (14m25s)

• Researchers have a responsibility to openly share their findings, including successes and failures, to foster collaboration and collective understanding in the field of AI. (14m26s)
• It is crucial for researchers to highlight both the positive aspects and the concerns surrounding AI to build trust with users and address any apprehension or fear. (14m51s)
• Engineers should recognize the importance of collaborating with designers and researchers, who bring expertise in understanding end-to-end user experiences and addressing broader problems beyond technical implementation. (15m37s)

The importance of funding accessible design (17m24s)

• Inclusive design in design systems can be championed by highlighting its positive impact on user experience and aligning it with the company's values. (18m36s)
• Demonstrating the value of design systems to engineers can involve emphasizing the time-saving benefits, such as reducing repetitive tasks and streamlining the development process. (21m22s)
• To effectively communicate the value of design systems to stakeholders, it's crucial to quantify their impact on business metrics, such as increased productivity, improved user satisfaction, and alignment with strategic initiatives. (21m42s)

How AI can augment human work (23m1s)

• GitHub has a unique perspective on how AI can augment human work, particularly in developer tools. (23m20s)
• GitHub believes in keeping humans in the loop, using AI to enhance efficiency and handle mundane tasks while maintaining human control and judgment. (23m50s)
• AI can improve the overall developer experience by making information more accessible, reducing the need for manual searches, and ultimately increasing productivity and happiness. (26m14s)

Designing for developers (28m20s)

• Designing for developers can be challenging because developers are opinionated and have diverse needs, often seeking to customize interfaces for their preferred workflows. (29m3s)
• Over-customization can create difficulties for administrators who are responsible for maintaining the system. (30m18s)
• Designing for developers requires understanding their specific needs and workflows, just as designing for any other user group necessitates understanding their unique requirements. (32m7s)