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ArbGrants: Ordo Arb Chao

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T - Lead, Product

Lumen PhD - Principal, Strategy and Operations

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Powerhouse Organizes Work

  • Powerhouse is an “Ecosystem Actor” or Contractor that spun out of the Maker Ecosystem in 2023.�
  • Originally a “Core Unit” that built out a contributor team incubator and operational infrastructure for MakerDAO/Sky.�
  • Prior work includes the operational structures for securely managing and reporting finances (think wallet structures and auditing).�
  • Recently delivered fusion.sky.money, a leading ecosystem transparency dashboard bespoke to Sky.

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Software For Transparency

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LTIPP Had 6 Steps

December 2023

Present

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LTIPP Operations Were Complex

  • 85 projects were awarded Arb Incentives�
  • Each project was expected to fulfill Six (6) biweekly reports�
  • 510 total biweekly reports to monitor and confirm.

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  • Prior reporting workflow utilized discourse forums.

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Forum Reports are Unscalable & Undiscoverable

  • Forum reporting works well for single projects�
  • No standard workflow, not possible to navigate data, terrible UX�
  • Each forum post used slightly different formats, despite the same template�
  • Customization and deviance undermined the purpose of standardization.

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Software Workflows Standardize Data

  • Software templates standardize data structure

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  • Arb signers for permissions means verifiability and provenance of data submissions�
  • By defining the flow of user templates, a logical UX proceeds.�
  • Structured data aids accessibility

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ArbGrants Utilized Three Work Phases

  • Phase 1: Discovery and Scoping (Late Feb - Early April; 6 Weeks)
    • Met with stakeholders to identify the existing requirements
    • Translated stakeholder requirements into a workflow UX.
    • Converted the biweekly report template into an embedded document.
  • Phase 2: Development and Implementation ( April - June; 8 Weeks)
    • Designing the ArbGrants software workflows
    • Developed and implemented backend and front-ends.
  • Phase 3: Live Operations (Mid June - Mid September; 12 Weeks)
    • Live operations including iterative QA development, communications, and ongoing customer (grantee) support.

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ArbGrants Required Significant Resources

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Outcomes of ArbGrants

  • 95% of projects created a document (~D1 retention)�
  • 86% submitted at least one report (~D7 Retention)�
  • Program Manager was able to monitor all projects on the biweekly cadence, increase efficiency, and improve accuracy with at a glance information.�
  • User submitted data available for export to ARDC (e.g. Blockworks)�
  • Positive UX and feedback across supported grantee projects.

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“While there was plenty of disarray in the program [LTIPP] (ie, things that can be improved, especially in the automated data collection/requirements communication), the arbgrants site was the most functional aspect.”

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What we learned…..

  • Supporting 85 Projects Requires Multiple FTE – A Team.
    • We had 2 staff each half time with shifted schedules for live customer support in addition to the full time Program Manager.
    • ~30 Powerhouse hours per week to maintain steady state operations.
  • Simulating Operational Workflows in Advance Helps
    • Through business analysis we can identify inefficiencies in advance.
    • Planning could consider margins better and consider time for workflow and software design/ development
  • Software Can Help Programs Scale
    • Arbgrants plus support made an otherwise untenable task feasible for the single program manager

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What could have gone better...

  • Initial LTIPP Planning did not consider Software Requirements
    • No time was allotted for workflow analysis and software implementation.
    • The QA period overlapped with liveops, resulting in some early UX challenges for live users who ended up fulfilling some initial QA.
  • Communications and Compliance Were Difficult
    • Some grantees did not tend to their reporting obligations or did so at the last minute.
    • Some grantees were unaware of their obligations.
    • Some grantees were not monitoring TG or the forums so were unaware of ArbGrants.

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Recommendations

  • Consider utilizing software flows or a single homepage for a consolidated UX
    • Help with communication and in turn compliance
    • Further automate and combine various open data sources (Tokenguard, Openblock)
  • Consider larger time margins for planning and execution.
  • Consider a larger operational team to support large numbers of grantees.

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Thank You!

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Questions?

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