Requesting retrospective grant funding for Node Operator User Research study
OpenUX
What specific project or work is the retrospective award in recognition of? Please detail what the project or work entailed and the duration over which it took place.
In October 2023, OpenUX began an in-depth study about the experiences of node operators getting started with Rocket Pool. Earlier this year, we published the full insights including recommendations, produced an explainer video, spoke on a Twitter space to explain the findings, and hosted an AMA with the GMC to discuss possible solutions to put into action.
In our original proposal, we requested a budget of $50,000 to conduct the work, but agreed to deliver it at a reduced rate in order to prove the value to the GMC and wider community, with the option to request retrospective funding later. We agreed to execute the research study for $33,300 including research participant incentives. We now wish to make a request for retrospective funding of $16,700 to bring us up to the original cost for the work.
Are the subjects of this award entirely open source (MIT, GPL, Apache, CC BY license or similar)? If not, which parts will not be, why, and under what license will they be published?
Yes.
Benefit
Potential rETH holders
n/a
rETH holders
n/a
Potential NOs
The research findings supports decision-makers at Rocket Pool with data they need to improve the documentation and support for first time node operators. Insights can help support certain key product metrics, for example reducing time to get a node up and running, operator retention, reducing support requests etc. The result will mean that the experience is improved for people looking to run a Rocket Pool node for the first time.
NOs
Outcomes for first-time node operators, and insights that inform better communication and governance will support people already running a node.
Community
The research deliverables are packed with insights and recommended courses of action that are enabling for the community; not only for the GMC to better direct resources, but for the wider community to be able to act on the findings and develop effective solutions that lead to greater NO adoption.
RPL holders
RPL holders benefit from actions taken off the back of the research: increased engagement, better brand equity, and increased trust in the long term sustainability of Rocket Pool and RPL, supporting token price.
Additionally…
Our goal for the research was to improve the experience of node operators, increase the number of people becoming node operators, and therefore increase the security of Ethereum overall. These are bold but achievable end results, however just having the research findings is not enough to make that so; the end users of our research (Rocket Pool core team, GMC and wider community) must be able to adequately action the findings. And due to the nature of user research in large distributed organizations like Rocket Pool, it can time for findings to turn into action, and results.
As a measure to evidence the effectiveness of our research, we anonymously surveyed GMC recipients to collect feedback on the research. Three people filled out the survey. Specific feedback we received from members of the GMC and community included:
“Very high quality work. In terms of ‘value adding’ to the community, high marks, though in some cases technical realities diminish the low hang of the low hanging fruit.”
“This was a positive experience with OpenUX. It will be interesting to see how many of the suggestions can be actioned by the pDAO or GMC.”
“Very professional and helpful report. The actionable stuff might take some time to massage into something that works for us, but that is not a knock to OpenUX.”
We asked our work to be scored and received the following scoring on 3 measurements: the deliverables being high quality, value-adding, and enabling for the Rocket Pool team.
Costs
How much USD $ is the applicant requesting be awarded to the recipient?
$16,700
Is the applicant requesting RPL or LUSD?
LUSD
Conflict of Interest
Does the person or persons requesting the retrospective award have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if you have nominated a member of the GMC for this retrospective award).
No.