With all due respect, the current UX/UI is arguably sloppy and has lots of room for improvement.
This is coming from a professional UX/UI designer who has worked for fortune 500 companies, ran a successful design agency serving hundreds of clients for over a decade, and someone that wants to use OGT daily but it's simply too painful to do so with its current functionality.
And to be even more candid, if fixing the usability of OG Tracker is not a high priority in this funding round, it makes little to no sense for the community to continue pouring money into an initiative that can be replicated with a better solution within <6-12 months and less than half the funding.
The fact is the current OG Tracker website breaks basic design principals and it's current look and feel makes it harder than it has to be to track progress among the Polkadot ecosystem.
Some Quick Examples
Referenda titles are truncated (even on large desktop devices) making it hard to tell what a ref represents without clicking into it to view more details. "Treasury Proposal: Marketing an" is all you see from this screen even on a 27" iMac as an example: https://app.ogtracker.io/all?status=InProgress
There are buttons with no labels such as the icons in the footer on all pages (e.g., the glasses icon), that the average user cannot identify its purpose, requiring users to click random buttons just to see what happens.
Listings display proposer addresses instead of verified user names, forcing users to click into each referendum to discern who is behind it. This unnecessary friction hampers navigation. Example: https://app.ogtracker.io/all?status=InProgress
The details page for a referendum does not include a OGT Review (thus when you rollover/click this button, it loads and nothing happens). Example: https://app.ogtracker.io/smallSpender/167
Initiatives such as integrating Grill Chat appear to be done lazily with no consideration to UX/UI whatsoever. The current implementation slaps a "G" logo on the footer that opens up a site-wide chat room. This is obviously not the best way to handle this integration, as discussions are going to happen per referendum - not across the entire website. This is likely one of the reasons why nobody has really used the Grill Chat feature yet (it's literally just 3 people saying "hello," "cool," and "hi there" so far).
The Bigger Picture
These examples are just the surface of broader usability and design issues. The website consistently breaks basic design principles, making it harder than necessary to track progress within the Polkadot ecosystem.
Proposed Solution
To demonstrate what’s possible, I’ve created a new design preview in under 48 hours — without input from your team. Preview here: https://simplified-impact-303574.framer.app/
Imagine what we could do together with more time and a proper feedback loop. That said, if you still don't think that the preview I shared showcases a cleaner, more functional look and feel, highlighting how quickly this can be addressed with proper focus, then simply let me know and I will step down and wish you the best of luck with your project.
Final Thoughts
Fixing these issues is not just about aesthetics; it’s about ensuring the Polkadot ecosystem has tools that serve the community effectively. Without such improvements, continued investment in OG Tracker risks being a poor use of resources.
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Unrelated ask: Please share Google Analytics data to the community for the OG Tracker tool since your last funding round so we can see what sort of activity this project receives daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
Thank you for your work so far @OG Tracker. Going forward, please consider working in milestones. Quarterly, or 6-months would be ideal in my opinion. In its current form, it's a nay from me.
kukabi | Helikon
It is deeply concerning that an initiative funded by the Polkadot treasury, whose primary goal is to enhance transparency, continues to fall short of demonstrating the same within its own referendum.
Google Analytics Data: Instead of cherry-picked figures devoid of context, provide full, unaltered screenshots or access to the raw data. Transparency demands clarity, not selective disclosures.
Team Details: The community has also asked for a complete overview of the team involved. Beyond publicly available information, provide names, professional profiles, and/or links to portfolios for all relevant team members. If treasury funds are being used to pay salaries, the community has the right to scrutinize and assess the team's qualifications and contributions. You continue to ignore these requests and provide excuses that are irrelevant. Imagine attempting to raise $600,000+ from traditional VCs/investors and telling them your team slide is "hidden" on purpose. You would literally be laughed out of the room (and for good reason).
Constructive Engagement: While you claim more teams and individuals need to step forward and contribute, dismissing my UI mockup as "identical with other known OpenGov platforms" is not only inaccurate but dismissive of the work involved. Similar design patterns, such as padding and how data is displayed, are deliberate choices to improve usability and ensure a consistent user experience. Can you imagine if every app on iOS provided a completely different user experience? It would be chaotic and unusable. Consistency is a hallmark of good design, not a flaw. Anyone heading a project requesting over $600,000 in additional funding should grasp this fundamental concept tbh.
If this team and initiative truly values transparency and community engagement, it must hold itself to higher standards of accountability and professionalism. The community deserves better.
With that said, I am saddened to announce that I am officially withdrawing my support for the current OG Tracker project/team and wish them the best of luck.
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I'd like to quickly thank those that have personally reached out in support of my efforts to improve the UX/UI of OGT thus far, your support means a lot. Although I am withdrawing my support for this specific project/team at this time, I am happy to report that I still aim to launch an alternative tracking software for OpenGov in 2025 and invite any developers that are interested in getting involved to contact me at [email protected] - my portfolio is available at https://flez.xyz
Dear @OG Tracker,
Thank you for your proposal. Our vote on this proposal is AYE.
The Medium Spender track requires a 50% quorum and simple majority according to our voting policy. This proposal has received five aye and two nay votes from ten members, with two members abstaining. Below is a summary of our members' comments:
The referendum received majority support, with members praising OG Tracker as a valuable and effective tool for the Polkadot ecosystem. However, many highlighted a preference for breaking the proposal into smaller milestones or quarterly periods to enhance accountability and transparency. While this concern led some to abstain or vote nay, supporters felt the tool’s proven track record justified continued funding, even as they encouraged adopting a milestone-based structure for future proposals.
The full discussion, along with individual members' votes and comments, can be found in our internal voting.
Kind regards,
Permanence DAO
Mesh votes yes. We receive a lot of helpful insights on approved proposals at OpenGov via OGTracker work. We agree with other comments made to the proposal that clearly scoped milestones would be a good addition, however, the work and track record from OGT convinces us to vote Yes.
Following our friends at @Mesh Governance and their rationale, we also vote with a yes on this proposal
I want to start by saying I really appreciate the vision behind OGTracker. The concept is solid and has the potential to become an invaluable tool for the Polkadot community. That said, I have some concerns about the proposed budget of $600,000+, which feels excessive for a project that doesn’t appear to require such a large team or full-time resources to operate effectively.
Over the past few months, I’ve personally reached out to the OGTracker team multiple times, offering to assist with a redesign and major UX improvements—even pro bono. Unfortunately, I’ve been met mostly with silence, which is disheartening given the tool's current state. While the concept is great, the execution falls short—the UX, in particular, renders the tool almost unusable in its current form.
I worry that the current team may not have the agility or background needed to deliver the improvements quickly and efficiently. If there’s openness to a conversation about restructuring, I’d be more than willing to help “right the ship,” building a leaner, more effective team with a clear UX-driven vision.
I’ve also been exploring the feasibility of creating a similar tool with a more streamlined approach and a much more UX friendly design, at a fraction of the proposed budget. However, I’d much rather see OGTracker succeed with the right adjustments.
I share this not to criticize but because I truly believe in what OGTracker could become—and I want to see it succeed for the benefit of the entire Polkadot ecosystem. I hope we can have an honest dialogue about the path forward.
Voting abstain for now.