Are you starting a new open source project or about to launch one? Understanding your project's value within its broader ecosystem, how it’s different and similar, how it interacts or impacts other projects, and how to talk about it in the wider open source community is crucial. This talk explores the importance of ecosystem mapping and user research from a design perspective, highlighting how these tools can uncover nuances of the interconnected roles of stakeholders, technologies, and communities, and how to use these skills if you’re a technologist, designer, project manager, or a combo of all three! Join us to learn tips and tricks for embedding ecosystem thinking into your open source practice!