Capacity Exchange (CapX) continues to evolve as a platform for Wikimedians to connect, share skills, and build capacity. Through recent interviews with community members, we gathered insights into how CapX is being used, what challenges exist, and the dreams people hold for its future.
Early last month, I spent some time listening to user feedback across the movement. I sent them three simple questions and if they have any suggestions to make the tool better suit their needs.
One contributor is working to translate CapX into Japanese, aiming to open doors for peers in Japan. Omotecho sees CapX as a way to encourage new editors, reduce reliance on machine translation, and connect communities across projects like Wikivoyage, Wikispecies, and Wikisource. Omotecho’s vision is for CapX to help junior editors find mentors and for travelers to share experiences that enrich Wikimedia projects.
Nicolas Vigneron highlighted the need for smoother navigation and more advanced search options. He suggested multi-parameter searches (e.g., by region, language, and skill) and skill-level indicators to better match contributors. Despite these challenges, he recommends CapX as a valuable tool. As of today, his valuable suggestion has been implemented in CapX!
Another Wikimedian, Sara Thomas, praised CapX’s design and noted that while search reliability and skill listings are still developing, the platform is especially useful for medium-level Wikimedians seeking to learn more. She actively recommends CapX to peers.
Sukkoria sees CapX as a tool to map skills and build balanced teams for events like the Wikimania Hackathon. By identifying contributors with diverse skillsets (UX, back-end, front-end, Wikimedia expertise), CapX could help organizers onboard new technical contributors. Sukkoria also expressed interest in contributing to CapX development.
Indonesian Wikimedian, Quraeni, highlighted the “Let’s Talk” and badge features as favorites. She suggested embedding profiles into blogs, adding news feeds from organizational sources, and expanding recognition badges. These ideas reflect how CapX could serve both individuals and organizations more effectively.
Meanwhile, Thersetya2021, shared enthusiasm for CapX’s learning capacity feature but noted difficulties accessing it on less sophisticated devices. She appreciated CapX’s openness to feedback and its evolution toward meeting diverse user needs.
In her office, Dian rarely uses CapX as communication with Indonesian volunteers typically happens outside the platform. She mainly uses CapX to learn about Wikimedians outside Indonesia, though profiles are not always available. Dian appreciates the explore and capacity features but finds the mobile interface needs improvement, as she prefers accessing CapX via phone. She views it more as an add-on since social networking already happens on other platforms.
Last but not least, Swarabakti, uses CapX mainly to update his profile and sees potential in the tagging system to identify skills for collaboration. While not yet widely recommending it, he would encourage peers to use CapX to share expertise.
From the eight people that have answered my short survey, several common themes emerge.
Users appreciate CapX as a platform for connecting Wikimedians and sharing skills, especially valuing features like capacity directory, explore functions, and direct communication tools. Many highlight the importance of improved navigation, advanced search capabilities, and better mobile accessibility to enhance usability.
While some users actively recommend CapX, others see it as supplementary to existing social networks, indicating a need for deeper integration and unique value. They saw room for improvements in regards to limited profile availability, navigation, search functionality, occasional interface awkwardness, and challenges with mobile display and device compatibility. These insights point to opportunities for refining the user experience, expanding localization, and strengthening CapX’s role as a central hub for collaboration.
CapX is making great progress in helping Wikimedians connect and share knowledge across the Wikimedia Movement. With ongoing improvements and support from the community, it can become a key tool that brings Wikimedians around the world together. The more Wikimedians using it regularly, the more valuable CapX in connecting people.
Benny, CapX Facilitator
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