This is the last post in the series where we discuss the takeaways from our recent user research. We already looked at basic demographics data and the use of 3rd-party addons for getting a job done. Now it’s time to talk about things that annoy users so much they are willing to pay to get these issues nuked from orbit.
FreeCAD has been designed as an extensible CAE platform from the ground up. There are currently more than 200 addons available through the Addon Manager alone, ranging from large workbenches to simple macros designed to do one job.
As part of the user survey, we looked into the use of addons. This is the second part of the series. If you missed it, you can also read what we found about user demographics.
Last month, we ran a user survey to better understand who FreeCAD users are: how they use FreeCAD, what they do at work, what major gripes with the software they have, and more. Over the course of one week, 650 people answered our questions and provided extended insights. They learned about the survey and came to it from more than ten different websites and social media platforms.
First-timers can have a hard time getting started with open source. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Open-source projects are dependent on an engaged community of contributors, but fostering that community comes with its challenges. Depending on what stage an open source project is at, what the community needs from contributors changes. The good news is that intentional coaching and engagement from project maintainers can work at any stage.