open source isn't just good, it's good business - drupalcamp colorado 2014
DESCRIPTION
n the Drupal community we tend to talk about committing code to our public spaces (drupal.org, GitHub, etc.) in terms of "contributing" and "contributions", and while much of it can be seen in that altruistic light, there are actually very strong business reasons for publishing your code and/or attempting to get your code changes committed to the open source project that you are working on. Some of the business reasons for public publishing we'll explore will include: The power of peer review. With enough eyes, all bugs are shallow, and with only a few eyes the stupidity knows no depths! Fork you! The costs associated with "hacking" both Drupal core and contrib modules and base themes. Take my code, please! Cost savings from committing patches. Professionals publish or perish. Using open source contributions as marketing and lead generation. Developers are people, seriously. And like most people, they like recognition. Contributing to an open source project, and having their code used by a broad community, can be inspiring and motivating in a way that client work never can. In short, open source contributions help with recruiting and retention. Integrating contributions into your client engagements. This session will look at U.S. government and military documents that espouse the adoption of Drupal within the federal government and explore how Zivtech has used open source contributions as a cornerstone in growing their businesses. You will hopefully walk away convinced that open source isn’t just good, it’s good business. https://2014.drupalcampcolorado.org/session/open-source-isnt-just-good-its-good-businessTRANSCRIPT
• Philadelphia-based, founded in 2008
• Open Source Software Development, Design, & Training
• Specialize in application/product development
• LivIT - Remote Patient Monitoring & Population Health Mgmt
• Alex UA - Cofounder & CEO
• Worked with Drupal since 2004
• Professional troublemaker & hat enthusiast
The Benefits of OSS …for “consumers”
(businesses and orgs)
The Problems
• Wide spread confusion as to the nature of Open Source Software
• Requires a different mind set for development: partially public development
• Lots of misinformation (FUD)
• Vendors don’t insist on contribution
• Publicly committing code is talked about talked as strictly an altruistic activity
OSS goes to Washington
• Clarifying Guidance Regarding Open Source Software (OSS) - bit.ly/dod-ossh
What makes it OSS-ome?
• Broad peer review = more secure & better quality code
• Flexibility over time- the world changes & you must too
• No vendor lock-in
• No restrictions on users of OSS
What makes it OSS-ome?
• No per-seat licenses = scalable usage
• Shared maintenance = lower TCO
• Iteration & Experimentation
• Ability to vet developers
One is the loneliest number
Don’t Hack What?
• Drupal Core
• Contrib Modules
• ~16,700
• Custom Modules
• Site-specific code
Hook everything, hack nothing!
• Contrib made possible by Drupal’s hook system
• Source of Drupal’s flexibility
• Functionality should be alterable from another module
• This a bug, not a feature
Hack Nothing! Flexibility & Scalability
• Can’t take advantage of improvements
• Can’t interact with other modules
• Can’t use common scaling techniques
Hack Nothing! Long Term Costs
• You broke it, you own it
• Not able to share costs
• Nobody will contribute to your private fork
Hack Nothing! Support & Vendor Lock In
• Good shops won’t work with hacked code, & neither should you
• Either get stuck with hackers or will have to pay to replace hacks
Hack Nothing! Quality Assurance
• With enough eyes, all bugs are shallow
• With few enough eyes, there is no limit to the stupidity & mistakes
• Peer review increases quality
• QA is a process
Security
• Doesn’t fall under community security processes / authorities
• Can’t easily apply security patches
• Lose “enough” eyes
Will work for pay• DoD recommendation: Add contractual
incentives for getting code committed “up stream”
• We still are asked for the opposite (i.e. to give a client a “break” on our charges if we are allowed to release it)
• Ability to freely commit code is a non-negotiable part of contracts
The Benefits of OSS …for vendors
• Lead Generation
• Employees
• Community recruitment
• Retention
• Training
• Shaming (QA)
The Benefits of OSS …for vendors
• Virtuous cycles
• Those who pay vendors to build modules get more Drupal-based customers
• Direct business benefits (getting paid to make modules)
• BUT… keep the costs of contribution in mind
Zivtech’s Project & Patching Processes
• Create specs
• Architecture plan
• Evaluating landscape & determine approach
• Use community code as possible
• Create custom module to extend existing contrib modules (prefered) or create new module
Zivtech’s Project & Patching Processes
• Patch existing modules
• Tracking the change and posting to d.o
• Add to patches folder - deployed automatically
• Code and resolve issue
• Review and iterate
Module or Patch?
• Maintaining a module is both a personal & business commitment
• Is there a business benefit?
• Is it an itch you want to scratch?
• If answer to either is no, we patch
Best Patch EVAH!!! -2522 lines, +148 lines
