Open Source in the DoD; Build It

Slide 1: Don’t Just Use It Build It! Building Open Source Software in the DoD Or A rapid dose of wishful thinking

Slide 2: DoD is coming to grips with Open Source Software. Today...

Slide 3: It’s like COTS, It Even Comes in a Box

Slide 4: Photo creative commons licensed from http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=432710571&size=l Yawn

Slide 5: But, imagine this...

Slide 6: Welcome to www.SOSCOE.org Project Documentation SOSCOE is the glue that holds FCS together... Source Wiki Distributed Peer to Peer Get Started! Open Get SOSCOE Join Buy a Tee shirt! ... and is an open source project funded by the U.S. Army to develop a next generation real time distributed platform. You are free to use, modify, and distribute SOSCOE. Don’t worry, we aren’t sharing the super secret squirrel stuff.

Slide 7: Or... www.open-cjmtk.org www.falconview.org www.webcop.org www.open-disa.org/necc

Slide 8: You mean “corporate source” right? Right??

Slide 9: Q: Assuming a Normal distribution, how many developers must have the opportunity to self select for your project in order to have a 90% confidence that at least 1% of the actual participants will be 5 σ above the mean? You know, the crazy smart ones. The ones you want

Slide 10: A: More open is better

Slide 11: Community Process: Gate the commit not the source Linus “the dictator” http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunechaser/134671996/

Slide 12: So, you mean something like “SHARE” right?

Slide 13: A Brief Aside: Three ways (that I can think of) to make source funded by government “open”* in the DoD * No attempt here to conform to OSF definition

Slide 14: • Government asserts rights (unlimited, or gov purpose) and shares the code • Government Owned (they wrote it) and released via PAO • Contractor copyright released to open source community

Slide 15: “SHARE” is this one • Government asserts rights (unlimited, or gov purpose) and shares the code • Government Owned (they wrote it) and released via PAO • Contractor copyright released to open source community

Slide 16: But, if you’re a contractor you don’t have to wait for your customer to make you SHARE.

Slide 17: You’re customer is sick of the Proprietary Lock In Model (and doesn’t it make you feel kind of crappy too?). Maybe there is a Tipping Point?

Slide 18: If you are Proprietary standing Lock In here... ... go ahead and push!

Slide 19: • Government asserts rights (unlimited, or gov purpose) and shares the code • Government Owned (they wrote it) and released via PAO • Contractor copyright released to open source community So, do this one

Slide 20: Huh, Why?

Slide 21: Delight your customer

Slide 22: To do more with less!

Slide 23: Hire, retain, and excite great developers.

Slide 24: Obtain Great Karma Get free beer http://www.flickr.com/photos/pete4ducks/1364334188/

Slide 25: We decided to try it

Slide 27: What we got: • A seat at the standards table • Energized developers who are contributing and are known • A broad community to critique and help fix our stuff • Sun testing and marketing our stuff • Visibility for our brand • An intentionally commoditized, easy to adopt stack

Slide 28: rVooz.org

Slide 30: A few quick questions:

Slide 31: Q: Do you think the “open source community” owes you process compliance (and ear tags)?

Slide 32: Q: Have you ever attended an OSCON? BarCamp? Heck, even a Gartner open source conference?

Slide 33: Q: Do you think there is a moral / ethical dimension to the adoption of OSS in government? Are you prepared to work with people who do?

Slide 34: Q: Now that Gen Justice got you fired up about the value of community, where the heck are the communities?

Slide 35: Q: Are you prepared for the moment when open software, developed under government contract, is forked by the Chinese for their use?

Slide 36: Thanks! Jim Stogdill jstogdill@gestalt-llc.com www.limnthis.com