Improving Cardano UX - Transparent Block Production Schedule

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Improving Cardano UX - Transparent Block Production Schedule

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

100000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

5

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Cardano users lack visibility on transaction confirmation times, causing frustration, reducing trust in wallets/dApps, and limiting adoption due to a transparency gap.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://github.com/IntersectMBO/cardano-node

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

The project can be fully open-sourced without external dependencies, ensuring development and release are not blocked. For adoption, the solution depends on SPOs voluntarily opting in to share their schedules. For wallets and dApps, integration of the API is encouraged but not a blocker for development

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

License and Additional Information

Contributions will be made to the existing cardano-node (Apache 2.0) and Ogmios (MPL 2.0) repositories, in line with their respective licenses.

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal

Developer Tools

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Mention your open source license and describe your open source license rationale.

We will contribute all code directly to the existing cardano-node (Apache 2.0) and Ogmios (MPL 2.0) repositories, ensuring it aligns with their standards and is fully reusable by the community. This approach guarantees unrestricted use across wallets, dApps, and SPO tooling, enabling immediate adoption and long-term maintenance within Cardano’s open-source ecosystem.

How do you make sure your source code is accessible to the public from project start, and people are informed?

From the start, all source code changes will be developed as public pull requests to the existing cardano-node and Ogmios repositories, enabling free use, modification, and integration. Development will be transparent, with open commits and PR discussions visible to the community. Updates will be shared through the Catalyst program, WingRiders Twitter, Discord, and other communication channels.

How will you provide high quality documentation?

Documentation will be maintained in the open-source repository, updated alongside each feature release. It will include clear usage guides, API references, annotated examples, and contribution instructions. Both technical and non-technical users will have access to step-by-step tutorials, screenshots, and demo videos to ensure easy adoption and community contributions. Documentation updates and usage guides will accompany feature releases, ensuring accessibility for both technical and non-technical users.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

This project introduces an opt-in block production schedule sharing mechanism into cardano-node, allowing stake pool operators (SPOs) to publish their upcoming leadership schedules in a way that is secure, privacy-preserving, and fully optional. The goal is to unlock new UX capabilities—such as transaction progress indicators—by exposing aggregate schedule information in a decentralized and queryable format.

While the core block production remains unchanged, participating SPOs will run a new node version that includes an option to broadcast leadership slots for future blocks. These schedules will be aggregated and served via a decentralized API, enabling frontend apps like wallets, explorers, and dApps to estimate when a submitted transaction is likely to be confirmed.

This feature directly addresses a well-known user experience gap in Cardano: the lack of real-time feedback when submitting transactions. By visualizing the expected inclusion of a transaction (based on known slot leaders), users gain confidence and clarity, reducing confusion and unnecessary resubmissions.

This initiative does not require integration by wallet teams or dApp developers during this funding cycle, but they may be invited to provide feedback and explore future adoption paths. The focus is on:

• Designing and implementing the opt-in schedule sharing mechanism.
• Providing aggregation infrastructure and a developer-friendly API.
• Demonstrating testnet utility through pilot SPO participation.

This proposal lays the groundwork for a new class of UX-aware applications, improving transparency while respecting operator autonomy and network decentralization.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

This project will enhance transaction transparency across Cardano, fostering greater trust, usability, and adoption while strengthening decentralization.

• Wallet & dApp Developers – Gain a lightweight, easy-to-integrate API that upgrades UX with minimal development effort, enabling fast rollout across platforms.
• Users – Receive clear, reliable transaction confirmation estimates, increasing confidence in Cardano wallets and dApps.
• Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) – Support transparency without disclosing sensitive operational data, reinforcing trust in the network’s decentralized infrastructure.
• Ecosystem Researchers / Analysts – Access anonymized, aggregated confirmation data to evaluate network performance and identify improvement opportunities.
• Enterprises & Institutional Participants – Integrate predictable transaction timing into operational workflows, reducing uncertainty in business-critical processes.
• Cardano Foundation, IOG, Catalyst Community – Benefit from a tangible example of how infrastructure can improve UX, adoption, and transparency without compromising network principles.
• Ecosystem – Predictability and transparency will improve reliability for all participants, supporting sustainable growth and wider adoption.

Success Metrics: API adoption by wallets/dApps, SPO participation rates, research usage, and user satisfaction metrics post-implementation. Together, these impacts will contribute to a more transparent, predictable, and user-friendly Cardano network.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & Feasibility

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

WingRiders has extensive experience in Cardano development, DEX operations, and infrastructure tooling. Additionally, we operate our own SPOs on both Cardano preprod and mainnet networks, giving us the practical experience and infrastructure needed to develop, test, and deploy node enhancements. We will validate feasibility by running the new feature on testnet (preprod) and coordinating integration pilots with willing wallets and SPOs before mainnet deployment.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Schedule sharing protocol design and cardano-node feature development

Milestone Outputs

• Formal specification of the schedule sharing protocol.
• Prototype for cardano-node implementing schedule sharing functionality.
• Unit tests covering the core functionality.
• Documentation for integration and operation.

Acceptance Criteria

• Protocol design reviewed and approved by at least two core contributors.
• cardano-node build with schedule sharing feature compiles and runs in a controlled test environment.
• All unit tests pass.
• Protocol messages conform to the design spec.

Evidence of Completion

• Link to protocol specification document.
• Link to PR to cardano-node containing feature implementation.
• Link to the test results.
• Logs or captured network messages showing correct schedule broadcast/receipt between nodes.

Delivery Month

2

Cost

30000

Progress

30 %

Milestone Title

Aggregation API service and Ogmios implementation

Milestone Outputs

• Aggregation API that collects and serves upcoming block production schedule from multiple nodes.
• Ogmios integration exposing schedule data via WebSocket/HTTP.
• Unit tests covering the core functionality.
• API documentation for developers and ecosystem partners.

Acceptance Criteria

• The Aggregation API correctly merges schedules from at least 3 nodes in the testnet environment.
• Ogmios instance provides the same aggregated schedule over its API without data loss or ordering errors.
• Ogmios dashboard shows an aggregated schedule.
• All unit tests pass
• API endpoints are documented.

Evidence of Completion

• Repository link to Aggregation API code and Ogmios integration changes.
• Example API responses showing aggregated and validated schedules.
• Ogmios dashboard screenshot displaying the aggregated schedule.
• Link to the test results.
• Link to the documentation.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

30000

Progress

60 %

Milestone Title

Testnet & mainnet deployment with ecosystem support

Milestone Outputs

• Testnet deployment of the aggregation API and schedule sharing nodes.
• Mainnet deployment of the aggregation API and schedule sharing nodes.
• Logs from cardano-node and ogmios.
• Ecosystem partner onboarding materials.

Acceptance Criteria

• Testnet deployment runs continuously for at least one epoch with no implementation errors.
• Mainnet deployment runs continuously for at least one epoch with no implementation errors.
• Logs from cardano-node and ogmios showing usage on testnet and mainnet.
• Ecosystem partner onboarding materials contain guides and examples on how to onboard.

Evidence of Completion

• Link to the logs from cardano-node and ogmios showing usage on testnet and mainnet.
• Link to the Ecosystem partner onboarding materials.

Delivery Month

4

Cost

25000

Progress

90 %

Milestone Title

Project Close-out Report and Project Close-out Video

Milestone Outputs

• A 2/3 page written summary ‘Project Close-out Report’, including gKey Performance Indicators (KPIs) achieved during the project.
• Short video ‘Project Close-out Video’, outlining the project achievements and deliverables.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Project Close-out Report’:
   1. Lists Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) achieved during the project.
   2. Explains how the KPIs were met or why they weren’t.
   3. Outlines next-stage plans for the product or service.
2. ‘Project Close-out Video’ outlining the project achievements and deliverables.

Evidence of Completion

• Final project report available on a publicly-accessible link.
• Video available on a publicly accessible link.

Delivery Month

5

Cost

15000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Milestone 1: Schedule sharing protocol design and cardano-node feature development

• Milestone Budget: ₳ 30,000
• Resource MDs:
  • Software engineer (senior & junior): 28
  • Project manager: 1.5

Milestone 2: Aggregation API service and Ogmios implementation

• Milestone Budget: ₳ 30,000
• Resource MDs:
  • Software engineer (senior & junior): 28
  • Project manager: 1.5

Milestone 3: Testnet & mainnet deployment with ecosystem support

• Milestone Budget: ₳ 25,000
• Resource MDs:
  • Software engineer (senior & junior): 23
  • Project manager: 1.5

Final Milestone: Close-out report and video

• Milestone Budget: ₳ 15,000
• Resource MDs:
  • Software engineer: 5
  • Marketing: 10
  • Project manager: 0,5

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

This proposal builds on existing node infrastructure with minimal changes, while delivering high-impact UX improvements across wallets and dApps. Open-source licensing ensures reusability, community-driven adoption, and long-term maintenance by the ecosystem. The phased approach with early testnet pilots ensures that funds are used effectively to deliver tangible results.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes