#desirepath — Public Fediverse posts

On Desire Paths Through CiviCRM: Use Cases, Capacity for Appropriation, and Collective Knowledge Infrastructure

CiviCRM is a free open-source software platform for “Constituent Relationship Management” or “Citizen Relationship Management”, that is, for working with contacts and with processes connected to contacts. CiviCRM provides a large number of powerful tools, but offers only limited guidance regarding purposes or workflows.

Although the software has been developed and used worldwide for more than twenty years, its practical appropriation still presupposes considerable prior knowledge. The software is not self-explanatory. It becomes powerful primarily in the hands of those who already possess the knowledge and methods required to understand how and for what purposes such software can be used. Accordingly, the existing documentation remains predominantly feature-oriented and only to a limited extent unfolds along the lines of real-world usage situations. This paper builds upon my reflections in “Toward Overcoming Suboptimal Provision of Free and Open-Source Software: The Case of CiviCRM”. Because there is no systematic representation of the typical ways in which people without prior knowledge solve everyday organisational problems with CiviCRM, the dissemination and practical use of the software remain below its potential.

I therefore propose the concept of the “desire path” as a guiding metaphor for describing functioning modes of use. […]

Auf Trampelpfaden durch CiviCRM. Use-Cases, Aneignungsfähigkeit und kollektive Wissensinfrastruktur

CiviCRM ist eine freie Open-Source-Software für „Constituent Relationship Management“ oder auch „Citizen Relationship Management“, also für die Arbeit mit Kontakten und mit Vorgängen, die mit Kontakten in Verbindung stehen. CiviCRM stellt sehr viele mächtige Werkzeuge bereit, macht jedoch kaum Vorschläge zu Zwecksetzungen oder Arbeitsweisen.

Obwohl die Software seit über zwanzig Jahren entwickelt und weltweit eingesetzt wird, bleibt ihre praktische Aneignung bislang voraussetzungsvoll. Die Software ist nicht instruktiv. Mächtig wird sie vor allem in den Händen derjenigen, die bereits über das Wissen und die Methoden verfügen, wie und wozu solche Software eingesetzt wird. Entsprechend ist die vorhandene Dokumentation überwiegend feature-zentriert und entfaltet sich nur begrenzt entlang der Beschreibung einer realen Nutzungswirklichkeit.

Dieses Papier greift meine Überlegungen „Zur Überwindung einer suboptimalen Versorgung mit freier Open-Source-Software am Beispiel von CiviCRM“ auf. Weil eine Darstellung typischer Wege fehlt, wie Menschen ohne Vorkenntnisse organisatorische Probleme im Alltag mit CiviCRM lösen, bleiben Verbreitung und Nutzung der Software unter ihren Möglichkeiten.

Ich schlage daher zur Beschreibung funktionierender Wege der Nutzung den Begriff des „Trampelpfads“ („Desire Path“) als Leitmetapher vor. Trampelpfade entstehen dort, wo Menschen unter realen Bedingungen wiederholt ähnliche Wege gehen. Übertragen auf CiviCRM bezeichnet der Begriff mögliche, noch unbefestigte Wege, wie tatsächlich mit der Software gearbeitet wird und wie sie für konkrete Zwecke konfiguriert wird – etwa um Kontakte nachzuhalten, Beziehungen zu pflegen, Vorgänge zu verwalten, Veranstaltungen zu organisieren oder Spenden zu verwalten.

Ich unternehme den Versuch, Leitlinien für eine verbesserte Dokumentation zu entwickeln, indem ich vorschlage, die Software von den Trampelpfaden ihrer Nutzung her zu denken. Dabei suche ich nach einem einheitlichen Ansatz zur Beschreibung der Nutzungswirklichkeit, identifiziere Muster tatsächlichen Handelns und entwickle Ideen für eine trampelpfadbasierte Dokumentation.

Das Papier beinhaltet darüber hinaus Überlegungen dazu, inwiefern eine solche Dokumentation nicht nur als Bestandteil der Aneignungsfähigkeit der Software und damit als Teil des Kollektivguts „CiviCRM“ verstanden werden muss, sondern zugleich als möglicher Referenzpunkt einer Governance-Struktur. Denn erst eine von der Anwendungswirklichkeit her gedachte Dokumentation ermöglicht es, die Auswirkungen von Entscheidungen in der Softwareentwicklung frühzeitig zu antizipieren und Anwender*innen als Betroffene solcher Entscheidungen die jeweils zur Entscheidung stehenden Fragen überhaupt erst nachvollziehbar zu machen und ihre intrinsische Motivation zur Mitwirkung an solchen Entscheidungsprozessen zu wecken. […]

Processes can be written by someone behind a desk & not by those who do it, creating real-world deviations due to ease, simplification & how it is actually done. Design the process for how it needs to be to meet requirements & stay simple when possible. #desirepath #process #simple #business #realword

Kad ietve ir tik trashy, ka labāk ar līkumu pa taciņu.
Pie tam pie PMLP un iekšlietu ministrijas :)

#Čiekurkalns #DesirePath

It's weeds vs desire paths in Los Angeles for the next couple of months.

#desirepath

This would be my favorite #desirepath around home. There are a few ridgelines in Woodland Hills where they couldn't manage to sell buildable lots, let alone squeeze in a road. However pedestrians have created these paths connecting what are otherwise dead-end streets for cars.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nu7kVnrZFTeWRXmD8

I've been treating these #ux sessions like a mini #dnd game. It's been fun to see which participant gets into the #RollPlaying. It's a really fun framework to hang the #DesirePath ux off of.

So far my campaign is "your boss is a jerk who's asked you to do this work last minute because the company you use has been acquired and aren't as helpful as they used to be."

No dragons, but the DM (me) will conjure any button or menu you can imagine 🧙‍♀️

Videos will take a while to edit though. Sorry!

#DesirePath Found on Lemmy.

https://lemmy.ml/post/15541346

#DesireLine #DesirePath #psychogeography #walking #GIS
Weighing up how I build the desire lines data schema and what makes the cut.
First one has become quite a heavily used locals track that skirts closer to the river...
https://spyderooth.vercel.app/quick-posts/quick-post-2024-04-30-150931/

Der Weg - Waldpfad Nr. 38 #waldpfad # wald #photography #trampelpfad #DesirePath

Jaunajā Uzvaras parkā pamatīgs "desire path".

Cerams, noasfaltēs, nevis uzliks žogu ;)

#DesirePath #UzvarasParks

Der Weg - Waldpfad Nr. 37 #waldpfad # wald #photography #trampelpfad #DesirePath

Der Weg - Waldpfad Nr. 36 #waldpfad # wald #photography #trampelpfad #DesirePath

If you've ever read about design, you've probably encountered the idea of #PavingTheDesirePath. A #DesirePath is an erosion path created by people departing from the official walkway and taking their own route. The story goes that smart campus planners don't fight the desire paths laid down by students; they pave them, formalizing the route that their constituents have voted for with their feet.

1/

@zachdaniel There's all these federated alternatives popping up like #Lemmy and #KBin but I haven't tried them.

I will miss the #DesirePath and #CaptchaArt subreddits if Reddit goes on with the planned changes...

Desire path

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desire_path

#UrbanPhotography #DesirePath #OhioState #Photo

Spring in #Warsaw.
Flowers along #tram tracks and along footpaths.
A fence between tracks to stop people crossing. It didn't work 100% when I lived there. Is it a sign of a bad design, like a #DesirePath? A missing level crossing? Pedestrian crossings are up to 380m apart in this densely populated neighbourhood.

Another #drone #photo from our #woodland. Slightly better lighting than before.

I love how in winter the green of the conifers stands out while the deciduous #trees almost disappear.

The clearly visible main #path was carved by us consistently walking the same route and didn't exist three years ago. #desirepath

#ThrowbackThursday #TBT is a watercolour landscape - probably my least frequent media/subject combo, but I had a brand new watercolour sketchbook to try and a photo to hand and couldn't resist.

#Watercolour #WatercolourLandscape #Kent #DesirePath

#ThrowbackThursday #TBT is a watercolour landscape - probably my least frequent media/subject combo, but I had a brand new watercolour sketchbook to try and a photo to hand and couldn't resist.

#Watercolour #WatercolourLandscape #Kent #DesirePath

Found a little #DesirePath on my afternoon walk!

@morganth Those are both legit.

What I'm speaking about especially are interests or hobbies. People absolutely bury those under CWs.

Moreover, as I noted, CWs are not searchable. That "subject heading" up there ... loses all effect once it falls beneath the fold. Mastodon / Fediverse discovery sucks as is.

For hashtags, what's worse is that they do not appear in search unless the post they appeared in is public. I should be able to turn up any hastagged content visible to me in scope. It also means that if I want to use hashtags for effective discovery I must post to public timelines. (My default is "unlisted" --- this appears to my followers but doesn't pollute the public timeline.)

And yes, I'll CW jokes for punchlines, etc. That's a principle intended use.

There are multiple #UIUX and evolved-usage / #DesirePath failures here. They've persisted now for years.

@publicvoit