In the framework of  the Open Data Institute’s fund to develop open source tools for data institutions, the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) has been awarded funds to improve the quality and interoperability of Frictionless Data. In light of our effort to make data open and accessible, we are thrilled to announce we will be partnering with the Open Data Institute (ODI) to improve our existing documentation and add new features on Frictionless Data to create a better user experience for all.  To achieve this, we will be working with a cohort of users from our active and engaged community to create better documentation that fits their needs. Our main goal is to make it easier for current and future users to understand and make use of the Frictionless Data tools and data libraries to their fullest potential. We know how frustrating it can be to try and use existing code (or learn new code) that has incomplete documentation and we don’t want that to be a barrier for our users anymore. This is why we are very grateful to the ODI for granting us the opportunity to improve upon our existing documentation. 

So, what will be changing?

• We will have a new project overview section, to help our users understand how to use Frictionless Data for their specific needs.
• We will improve the existing documentation, to make sure even brand new users can quickly understand everything.
• We will have Tutorials, to showcase real users experience and have user-friendly examples.
• We will add a FAQ session.

And when will all of that be ready?

Very soon! By the beginning of April everything will be online, so stay tuned (and frictionless)!

Call for user feedback

Feedback from our community is crucial to us, and part of this grant will be used to fund an evaluation of the existing documentation by our users in the format of user feedback sessions. Are you using our Frictionless Data tools or our Python data library? Then we want to hear from you! We are currently looking for novice and intermediate users to help us review our documentation, in order to make it more useful for you and all our future users. For every user session you take part into, you will be given £50 for your time and feedback. Are you interested? Then fill in this form.

More about Frictionless Data

Frictionless Data is a set of specifications for data and metadata interoperability, accompanied by a collection of software libraries that implement these specifications, and a range of best practices for data management. The project is funded by the Sloan Foundation.