Hello all,
I'm sorry to tell you that Naoko Komura, Wikimedia's Head of User Experience Programs, has decided to leave the Wikimedia Foundation.
Naoko has just wrapped up the Stanton Wikipedia Usability Project for us, so this is a natural moment for her to decide to leave. The Wikipedia Usability Project is a major accomplishment, and one Naoko should be deeply proud of.
As many of you know, last year, the Stanton Foundation generously funded a project to improve Wikipedia's usability and user experience. Naoko ran that project -- building the team from scratch, initially working from a satellite office because we had run out of space. She instituted project management and QA processes, user experience research as part of the development cycle, regular reports and blog updates, and so forth: it was the first project of this scale that the Wikimedia Foundation had ever undertaken, and it required her to create new processes for communicating and collaborating with Wikimedia editors, and for assessing user acceptance. Naoko worked long days and nights, and ensured that the project was successfully completed.
Two weeks ago, the project resulted in English Wikipedia changing its user experience significantly for the first time in many years. We are confident that these and further upcoming changes will make Wikipedia easier to contribute to for its millions of users. This historic change is the direct result of Naoko's passionate commitment to see the project through to success, and I am grateful to her.
I'm sad to see Naoko leave, but she's assured me that she will continue to stay involved as a volunteer. She's also open to discussing future project opportunities, and I'll certainly take her up on that offer.
Naoko's last day with us will be June 17. Please join me in thanking Naoko for her many contributions to the Wikimedia movement.
Erik