FIP Tracker Tool

Problem

Filecoin is a decentralized storage network designed to store humanity's most important information. To continuously improve and evolve the network, the Filecoin community follows a structured governance process through Filecoin Improvement Proposals (FIPs).

Currently, FIPs are managed primarily on GitHub, which serves as the source of truth. However, relying solely on GitHub, non-technical users and broader community members find it difficult to engage with and track FIP progress.

To address this issue, a dedicated and user-friendly FIP Tracker was needed. Rather than creating a standalone tool, the idea was to integrate the tracker into Metropolis, an existing tool originally designed as a no-binding sentiment check platform for the Filecoin community. Centralizing the FIP tracker within Metropolis would streamline governance participation, ensuring that all relevant discussions, updates, and sentiment checks exist in one place.

This FIP Tracker would need to:

• Provide a structured, easy-to-navigate dashboard for tracking FIP status.
• Automatically sync with GitHub, ensuring real-time updates while keeping GitHub as the source of truth.
• Improve accessibility for both technical and non-technical users by offering a clear and intuitive interface.
• Enhance engagement by enabling notifications and filtering.

Process

I worked closely with the Filecoin head of governance, a governance project manager, and an engineer to define the core requirements for this tool. Together, we outlined the essential information that needed to be displayed for each FIP:

• Title
• Authors
• Creation Date
• Status
• Type
• Link to GitHub
• Additional proposal details

We also identified that if a FIP reached the "Last Call" stage, the tool needed to display a countdown timer indicating how many days were left before the proposal was finalized.

Challenges & Solutions

The biggest challenge was accommodating the eight different FIP statuses while ensuring clarity and ease of use. We tackled this by implementing color-coded status labels, making it easy for users to distinguish between different proposal stages at a glance.

We also prioritized search and filtering capabilities to enhance usability. Users needed to:

• Search FIPs by keywords.
• Filter FIPs by Authors, Status, Date, and Type.
• Sort FIPs by Newest to Oldest, Oldest to Newest, Status, and Authors (alphabetical order).

Since the dashboard contained a high density of information, we introduced customization features allowing users to show or hide specific details, such as:

• Authors
• Creation Date
• Type
• Category

This level of personalization ensured that users could customize the tool to their needs, improving their overall experience.

To prevent information overload while maintaining necessary details, I explored multiple ways to visualize the data.

The final solution presented a clean, structured layout, allowing users to expand a proposal card for more details when needed. Each status was color-coded, ensuring quick recognition and differentiation between proposal stages.

Implementation & Current Status

The tool has since been developed by an external contractor and renamed to FIL Poll. An MVP is currently in progress and being tested with various ecosystem participants to refine its usability and effectiveness.