Communities.ossoil.com

How NOT to do open source

Jarkko MoilanenOpen Source Community Enabler

jarkko.moilanen@ossoil.com

Community managers view

Communities.ossoil.com

“Living the open source”

Long term research about Open Source Communities (Masters Thesis, now PhD candidate)

Not just observing but inside Open Source

Communities.ossoil.com

Given task

Right and and wrong way?

Co-operation?

might not be the least painful way

Can be cumbersome, complex mesh

Depends on situation

...but there are basic aspects to consider

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Choose your goal and values

● Lively, enthuastic and proactive community (Open and transparent communication and decisionmaking)

● Adapt to changes faster (live inside open source)

● Get innovative solutions and options (hacking is seen as positive)

● Get quick profit (Use open source efforts only for profit)

● Our internal work and teams are more creative than open source community

● Sharing skills and information (outside company) is to be avoided

If you prefer option 2, you can leave now and skip the following slides...

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So you decided to stay...

... is not familiar with open source values and communities

... has no history in open source development

Get help! Don't jump into ocean without knowing how to swim!

If your staff...

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“We just use open source”

Community

Embrace organisational overlapping

- Can be cumbersome- Can be a mesh (not clear cut)

- At best combines two or more networks- Often requires organisational changes

Instead try to live inside open source

Company Company

Community

Mindset

Contribute back to community

Communities.ossoil.com

Overlapping Developer Roles

Support natural overlapping roles

If your developers are not open source prone and your business is, time for HR replacements

- 'turn' developers to open source in one night- give only one option in development- strict boundaries == no freedom- stick with one set op dev tools

- hire open source people- educate existing developers- embrace freetime hacking- give credit for open source activities- enable dev tool selection

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“We hire just developers with certificates!”

Developer types vary

“9 to 5” -developer- does for the money- bind to office hours- does (internal) app development

“Focused 24/7” -developer- not just for money- contributes to community- still in apps only

“Spread 24/7” - developer- community as lifestyle- multiple areas (core, apps, tools)- contributes to community

You need all types!

+ active users, hobby developers

Commitment grows ->

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“Why aren't you coding?!”

Adjust HR policy towards open source

- 'turn' developers to open source in one night- give only one option in development- strict boundaries == no freedom

- hire open source people- educate existing developers- embrace freetime hacking- give credit for open source activities- use community as dev pool- analyze (or buy) community- request 'Git' references

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“Values? We follow profit only!”

Try to look beyond next quarter

- Turn community efforts into cash- You shall not seek outside the box- Fixed plans and teams- Rely on internal skills- Fear of loosing control

- Communities are bigger than individual companies- freedom, fun loving- Loves alternatives - make oriented- sharing (w/ altruism)

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Cracks in the shell

Open communication & plans

Transparent decisionmaking

- Decisions in the background- Decisionmakers from company- Use only internal information flow- Only own (duplicate) bugtrackers - Code kept hidden and stall release- Dictate changes

- Decisions in public- Involve all (relatively)- Use public methods- Use shared & public resources - Rely on discussion

trustdisbelief

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ConclusionsCompanies OSS communities

- Fails to adjust company policies- Neglects open communication- Fails to see values of transparency- Fails to adjust own organization- Fails to understand that communities need skillful community manager

- Lives too much on it's own- In some cases ideological boundaries- Sometimes chaotic- Slow changes- Unpredictable (failure or not?)

Both need to understand each other more

Meet half way and discuss

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What to do?

Don't open source allEducate your staffHire open source developersEvaluate communities constantly (outsource)Hire community manager from outside (acts as 3rd party)Engage staff to communityOpen up your communication and plans (regarding parts where community is involved)

Company perspective

Questions?

Communities.ossoil.com

How NOT to do open source

Jarkko MoilanenOpen Source Community Enabler

jarkko.moilanen@ossoil.com

Community managers view