Client Confidentiality & NDA's

[chassycleland]

I saw this project listed on the IXDA discussion list, and it looked pretty interesting.

Has anyone given thought to how client confidentiality and NDA's fit into the goals for opening up design processes? My understanding is that the goals of OpenSourceDesign extends to commercial work. As a consultant & former agency guy, I'd love to collaborate openly, but...

• Every project I've been on has some level of NDA that prevents sharing of work. Beyond from legal stipulations, revealing anything before launch is just a very very bad thing. It botches launches, reveals strategy and opens the door for early copycats.
• After launch, most materials are still considered confidential for the same reasons above. Personally, I can't even maintain a public portfolio because of this issue.

To get a little deeper into the issue, I'd recommend delving into personas and use cases to refine the audience.

[GarthDB]

@chassycleland great point.

I don't think it is practical to think that every project could be open sourced - the design or the code.

If your employer is paying you to produce work for them, they own the rights and and that ownership has to be respected.

However, I think we can start being more open in our side projects. For the most part, they are ideas we are kicking around for a few reasons:

1. To solve a problem we have
2. To sharpen or show proof of a skill we have or want
3. To collaborate with people we like
4. Someday it will go gang busters and make millions of dollars.

If we are doing good work on things other than number 4 - I think we should do it in the open.

[GarthDB]

Also, I we do think have some say in the matter when it comes to what clients we take on and what the terms of our contract are.

I recommend @bradfrost's post on starting his new redesign project in the open. http://bradfrostweb.com/blog/post/designing-in-the-open/

[GarthDB]

Let's do an editorial post on this - added editorial idea tag

[dt123]

@chassycleland @GarthDB agreed, good points. However, I think Open Source Design can be as much about sharing the process and source files of a design post-launch as it is while working on it. It can work both ways.

For example, using LayerVault, you can work on a project in private with a small group of collaborators, and then change it to a public project later, revealing the revisions that the design went through. This allows you to maintain some level of privacy and protection in early stages while still contributing to the public domain in meaningful ways.

This can also have a significant positive impact on the launch.

[GarthDB]

@dt123 I'm a big fan of recording your progress on a project to release later. LayerVault seems like a great way to do it without extra steps.