an open source approach to collaboration

Tirza Hollenhorsttirzalyn@ifpeople.net

678 608 3408www.ifpeople.net

An Open Source Approach to Collaboration

Chris Johnsoncjj@ifpeople.net678 608 3408wwww.ifpeople.net

● Scientists by training● Lived in 7 countries● Cofounded ifPeople (2003, Argentina)

About Us

● Social Enterprise● Partnership-Based● Strategy-Centered

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We help our clients use techto nurture effective, long-term relationships with stakeholders.

The Challenge

Problems larger than one org can solve

● Need to use resource efficiently

● Lack of culture of collaboration

● Duplication of effortPhoto by foxypar4

Open Source Helps

Distribute the burden

Diverse perspectives enrich the final product

Focus on creating value for users

Give everyone a voice

Photo by km6xo

How?

● Give people the rights● Focus on the community● Appropriate leadership

Quality product will emerge!

What is Open Source?

Open Source is NOT

● Free beer (freeware)● Twitter (free services)● Anyone can change anything (and break) 

software● Experimental projects by underground hackers● Used only by geeks

License Product Means of Production

Open Source is...

Img: Vector Portal

 ● Governs the rights to the product created● You have the right to:

● Modify● Copy● Use in any way● Distribute

==> need to have the source

“Free as in Freedom”

License 

Understanding Open Source Community

“The reason that the Fedora community exists is to encourage and empower the awesomeness that exists in the world, to bring people together, and to share the awesome results with everyone.”

Shared Purpose

Source: “Cultivating Contribution”, Tom Calloway, 2009

Processes

● How to organize people and innovation for a hard problem: creating software.● Design● Development● Release management● Quality control● Maintenance● Marketing

Open Source Community Members

Consumers (80%)

Participants (15%))

Contributors (5%))

SEEK

SHARE

PARTICIPATE

Source: “Cultivating Contribution”, Tom Calloway, 2009

Structure

● Governing body (foundation, company, etc)– Handles contributor agreements and access to code

● Built around modularity of the code base– People or teams take responsibility for a module

● Often times informal structure

Technology

● Code repository● Issue tracker

● Communications: ● Mailing list● Instant messaging

● Website and/or wiki

Graphic by @ambrin based on work by Christopher Johnson and Jon Stahl

Community Case Studies

● Mozilla Foundation / Firefox

● Apache  Software Foundation / Apache Server 

Shared Purpose: The Mozilla project is a global community of people who believe that openness, innovation, and opportunity are key to the continued health of the Internet. 

Product: Firefox web browser with ~23% market share. Other projects include Thunderbird (email application) and Bugzilla (software development tool).

Origin:    AOL acquired Netscape; Netscape announced in 1998 that Communicator product would be available as free, open source software.

Structure:   Mozilla Foundation (2003) created to house the project. Owns subsidiary for­profit companies. 

Distinct hierarchy in the management: ● Mitchell Baker and Brendan Eich function as Benevolent Dictators. ● Individuals given authority to make decisions: Sheriff, Performance Guru, Super Reviewer.

Process: Each tool has documentation about etiquette and best use, how to get involved, how to make best use of your time, decision making, etc. 

A culture of quality and respect is reiterated throughout.

Very strict processes for code review and testing slow down the development processes.

Decision­making by authorized individuals (

Members:  In addition to development community, have Spread Firefox project members (gives specific role to anyone, despite technical ability). Also has active community contributing add­on products.

Mitchell Baker – Chief Lizard WranglerIs passionate about building and maintainingCommunity and creates roles most other OSSProjects neglect. 

Apache Shared Purpose

The Apache projects are characterized by a collaborative, consensus based development process, an open and pragmatic software license, and a desire to create high quality software that leads the way in its field.

Apache Server product is the industry leader with 47% of market share. 

Apache Structure

Origin:  Apache began in February 1995 as a combined effort to coordinate existing fixes to the NCSA httpd

Structure: Apache Software Foundation (1999) provides org, legal and financial support to projects

Each project has a core developer team (Project Management Committee) with authority to design its own governing rules.

Mailing list for communication, including proposing changes to code

Project Management Committees (PMC) vote on changes to code.

History of informal networks means less formal processes continue.

Consensus and committee­driven

)

Apache Process

User: Uses software; contributes to the  projects by providing feedback. Participates by helping other users,

Developer: Contributes to a project in the form of code,  documentation, testing. 

Committer: Developer with write access to the code repository. Directly contributes code, reviews developer code.

PMC member:  Elected due to merit. Votes for the community­related decisions.

Apache Members

Principles of Open Source Production

User = Contributor

● Everyone is an owner

● Anyone can fork the project

To Fork or Not to Fork

Leadership Response

● Goal is to lower barriers to being a contributor

● Build consensus ● Hold conversations in public

People are free, independent, self­directed beings

● Projects are largely volunteer driven

● Participants choose what they want to work on

● More than one person may work on solving same problem

Leadership Response

● Keep product modular● Every user is a potential volunteer● Distribute tasks (management and technical)

 “...Leadership in an open source community comes not from leverage or control, but from finding common interests and expertly managing what is volunteered.”    ­Fogel

Do­ocracy, Not Democracy

● Actions matter more than opinionsPeople should feel that their connection to a project, and influence over it, is directly proportional to their contributions.

● Voting systems

+1

0

­1

Members value the community 

Give a little, get a lot: Giving back

User/developers benefit from being part of a larger community

Community is an asset

Community is an asset

The Community values its members● Time invested in maintaining community

● Creating roles● Mythology● Social capital and recognition of contributions● Gatherings to bring people face to face

Case Study: Fedora

Fedora is a  Linux based operating system. It is built by a community – The Fedora Project.

They community is “contributor centric”

Focuses on building strong, educated users Contributors

Contributors make up about 5% of the community

Fedora's Four Foundations100% legal, redistributable: Content, websites, artwork, code, everything 

Everyone has something to give. Disagreement, then discussion, then consensus

Deliver Technical ExcellenceUpstream Collaboration is keyFeature process allows contributors    to showcase their skillsRed Hat  hires people based on work done in Fedora

Innovation changes the worldWe are eager to do the heavy liftingA rapid release cycle Community R&D labRed Hat does not control the community

Source: “Cultivating Contribution”, Tom Calloway, 2009

Well­Defined Communication

Documented and transparent

● Vital for collaborative design

● Designed to capture the distributed knowledge of community, make voices heard

Rigorous Contribution Process

● Contributor agreements● Controlled ability to commit the product● Release management (manager)

Is there a road map?

Photo by Wade from Oklohoma

Social Sourcing

A project organizing approach that gets diverse stakeholders to participate in the process, thus creating sustainable community.

Goal: Create a vibrant, healthy community that shares in stewarding the product.

Your Own Preparedness

Find something you are passionate about

Set the tone  ­ Keep conversations public  ­ Nip rudeness in the bud  ­ Involve others from the start 

Example: GetPaid

• Ecommerce product for Plone• Provides payment processing and simple store • www.plonegetpaid.com

Social Sourcing Process

Study the market - Benchmark - Don't reinvent the wheel

Set the stage - Name your project - Create a good mission - Set up communications tools (website, list, etc)

Put together a compelling plan - Clarify where the project is going

Recruit and engage - Make it easy for people to work with the project

Gather necessary resources

Bite off a manageable chunk to do - Release early and often!

Celebrate successes  ­ Recognize contributors  ­ Track progress and communicate about it

Social Sourcing Process

Learn More

Chris Johnson | Tirza Hollenhorstcjj@ifpeople.net | tirzalyn@ifpeople.netwww.ifpeople.net (see Learn section)678-608-3408

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