Reduce developer onboarding time and cognitive load when navigating complex GitLab issues with a new "context pinning" feature

GitLab is an open-source platform built on Git, the distributed version control system. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing repositories, project planning, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), code reviews, issue tracking, and more.

In the spring of 2024, I collaborated with GitLab’s UX team - including senior product designers, UX researchers, product managers, and engineers - for my Human Factors Psychology Capstone Project. My UX challenge centered on streamlining developer onboarding: when receiving a task in the form of an issue, developers often lose time digging through lengthy threads and scattered discussions to understand their next steps. Working in a team of 4, I led the design of a new “context pinning” feature aimed at reducing onboarding friction and helping developers quickly orient themselves within new GitLab issues.