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Lessons from Mozilla

John Lilly, CEO
January 27, 2009

Heise Open Source Meets Business
The talk I was supposed to give:




         How to Bring an Open Source
        Application Into the Mainstream
But there are some problems with the premise:




   1. every project is different
   2. context really, really matters
   3. lots of strategies are not “open” or “closed”
There are lots of examples of wonderful open source successes :




                     ...but no clear models for how to get there.
So instead:




                Lessons from Mozilla:
                7 insights, 2 problems
              & some thoughts for 2009
Warning!!




            Your Mileage May Vary
First, some context...




                         about:Mozilla
about:Mozilla



   1. a global, open source project
   2. a community of thousands of creators
   3. a mission-oriented organization
   4. a public benefit company and subs
   5. the maker of Firefox & Thunderbird
about:Mozilla




                    Mozilla’s Mission:
                  To promote choice and
                innovation on the Internet
the Web is too important...




                              seriously.

                              that’s it.
about:Mozilla

   •Mozilla project started in 1998 within Netscape
   •Mozilla Foundation started in 2003
   •approximately 200 employees in 20 countries
   •40% of code contributed by non-employees
   •testing community of 20,000+
   •current reach is more than 220 million users
Firefox Market Share as of 3/2008
Now...




           Lessons from Mozilla:
           7 insights, 2 problems
         & some thoughts for 2009
Insight #1




             Superior Products Matter
Look again at some big successes...




      All are known for
      being best-in-class
           for users
Without excellent experience &
 utility, the rest is meaningless
Insight #2




             Push (most) decision-making
                    to the edges
The Strongest Open Systems are Chaords




                                  1. distributed decision-making
                                  2. nodal authority
                                  3. ways to route around



 http://upload.wikimedia.org/
      wikipedia/en/d/d2/
    Internet_map_1024.jpg
Characteristics of Chaords (coined by Dee Hock)




   1. exhibit characteristics of both chaos & order
   2. regularly yield surprising innovation
   3. highly robust & scalable systems

   examples: the Internet, Visa, Wikipedia
Mozilla is a Chaord



   1. high agreement on core values
   2. decision-making rests with module owners
   3. groups have distinct ways of working
   4. many decision-makers outside the “official” org
   5. communication is central
Insight #3




             Communication will happen
                in every possible way
             (so make sure it’s reusable)
People will communicate in every
      useful way possible
Wikis
Blogs (and especially, Other Peoples’ Blogs!)
Our main channels: bugzilla, IRC & newsgroups
Increasing: video, audio & chat
And very frequent real-life get-togethers
Key: make every conversation
      (re)usable by as
  many people as possible
Insight #4




             Make it easy for your
             community to do the
               important things
SuMo, QMO, SFx
Localization

                 Firefox ships in 62 languages;
               61 of them localized by volunteers


               Making it easy is a huge priority
Our focus now is on making it easier
      to help others do more
Insight #5




             Surprise is overrated
Surprise is the
opposite of engagement
Goal is to increase the
“inner circle” of participation
Surprising to some
Goal is to have growing inner circle --
ideally everyone should feel included
Insight #6




             Communities are not markets:
                members are citizens
Citizens??




      Citizens are more than consumers,
           are more than bystanders,
          are more than stakeholders
Citizens!




            They are us.
            We are them.
The best citizens challenge
        the status quo,
     propose improvements
and make the conversation richer.
They don’t just make products better.
  They make them what they are.
Insight #7 (meta-insight)




            The key is the art of figuring
            out whether & how to apply
                each of these ideas
How??




        Experiment! Try things!

        Measure where possible.
There are real problems, of course
Problem #1




             Engaged citizens are noisy
Citizens are noisy...
                                                                           “Fitts’ says bigger
                                              “The URL bar should
                                                                          buttons are better.”     “What’s with the
                                                 be removed.”
                                                                                                    dirty house?”
                                                          “There should be
                                  “My mom doesn’t                                    “Nobody uses the   “Add support for
                                                        a preference setting.”
                                  understand tabs.”                                    ‘Go’ button.”      BitTorrent.”
                                                      “OpenID is the future!”
                                                                                                        “That’s great!”
                     “Everyone uses tags,
                       not bookmarks.”


                      “I love tabs!”


       “The profile manager
      should be redesigned.”


             “Add support for
               Ogg Vorbis.”

                 “That’s awful”

    “Closebuttons are better at
      the end of the tabstrip.”
...and demanding...
...and contradictory...
...and vital.




     They help products & technology &
     organization make hard decisions in
                the right way.
Problem #2




             At scale, there are no maps
Actually, there are maps




     But they’re everybody else’s maps,
             and not really yours
dragons everywhere




http://en.wikipedia.org/
   wiki/Carta_Marina
Key is defining what you care about,
       and how to measure it,
and how to communicate litmus tests
Postscript




             2 Thoughts for 2009
Thought #1




             The Web is central
              (but at some risk)
Every browser is getting better on standards, JS performance, etc...




               But not at the same pace.
And this slower pace of change
creates real problems for developers
Thought #2




       Together, we’re all deciding the
          future of the mobile Web
                  right now
Is this what we want?




                                                    Traditional tight
                                                    coupling between
                                                    service, manufacturer &
                                                    software


       http://flickr.com/photos/jaboobie/11686470/
We can do better than this tethered model




                 On the Web,
       you don’t have to ask permission
Choices have consequences




             Which one do you want?
Questions & Discussion

John Lilly - lilly@mozilla.com

All content CC-Attribution

Thanks & apologies & materials borrowed from:
Mike Beltzner, Chris Beard, the Mozilla Community

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7 Lessons from Mozilla

  • 1. Lessons from Mozilla John Lilly, CEO January 27, 2009 Heise Open Source Meets Business
  • 2. The talk I was supposed to give: How to Bring an Open Source Application Into the Mainstream
  • 3. But there are some problems with the premise: 1. every project is different 2. context really, really matters 3. lots of strategies are not “open” or “closed”
  • 4. There are lots of examples of wonderful open source successes : ...but no clear models for how to get there.
  • 5. So instead: Lessons from Mozilla: 7 insights, 2 problems & some thoughts for 2009
  • 6. Warning!! Your Mileage May Vary
  • 7. First, some context... about:Mozilla
  • 8. about:Mozilla 1. a global, open source project 2. a community of thousands of creators 3. a mission-oriented organization 4. a public benefit company and subs 5. the maker of Firefox & Thunderbird
  • 9. about:Mozilla Mozilla’s Mission: To promote choice and innovation on the Internet
  • 10. the Web is too important... seriously. that’s it.
  • 11. about:Mozilla •Mozilla project started in 1998 within Netscape •Mozilla Foundation started in 2003 •approximately 200 employees in 20 countries •40% of code contributed by non-employees •testing community of 20,000+ •current reach is more than 220 million users
  • 12. Firefox Market Share as of 3/2008
  • 13. Now... Lessons from Mozilla: 7 insights, 2 problems & some thoughts for 2009
  • 14. Insight #1 Superior Products Matter
  • 15. Look again at some big successes... All are known for being best-in-class for users
  • 16. Without excellent experience & utility, the rest is meaningless
  • 17. Insight #2 Push (most) decision-making to the edges
  • 18. The Strongest Open Systems are Chaords 1. distributed decision-making 2. nodal authority 3. ways to route around http://upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/en/d/d2/ Internet_map_1024.jpg
  • 19. Characteristics of Chaords (coined by Dee Hock) 1. exhibit characteristics of both chaos & order 2. regularly yield surprising innovation 3. highly robust & scalable systems examples: the Internet, Visa, Wikipedia
  • 20. Mozilla is a Chaord 1. high agreement on core values 2. decision-making rests with module owners 3. groups have distinct ways of working 4. many decision-makers outside the “official” org 5. communication is central
  • 21. Insight #3 Communication will happen in every possible way (so make sure it’s reusable)
  • 22. People will communicate in every useful way possible
  • 23. Wikis
  • 24. Blogs (and especially, Other Peoples’ Blogs!)
  • 25. Our main channels: bugzilla, IRC & newsgroups
  • 27. And very frequent real-life get-togethers
  • 28. Key: make every conversation (re)usable by as many people as possible
  • 29. Insight #4 Make it easy for your community to do the important things
  • 31. Localization Firefox ships in 62 languages; 61 of them localized by volunteers Making it easy is a huge priority
  • 32. Our focus now is on making it easier to help others do more
  • 33. Insight #5 Surprise is overrated
  • 34. Surprise is the opposite of engagement
  • 35. Goal is to increase the “inner circle” of participation
  • 37. Goal is to have growing inner circle -- ideally everyone should feel included
  • 38. Insight #6 Communities are not markets: members are citizens
  • 39. Citizens?? Citizens are more than consumers, are more than bystanders, are more than stakeholders
  • 40. Citizens! They are us. We are them.
  • 41. The best citizens challenge the status quo, propose improvements and make the conversation richer.
  • 42. They don’t just make products better. They make them what they are.
  • 43. Insight #7 (meta-insight) The key is the art of figuring out whether & how to apply each of these ideas
  • 44. How?? Experiment! Try things! Measure where possible.
  • 45. There are real problems, of course
  • 46. Problem #1 Engaged citizens are noisy
  • 47. Citizens are noisy... “Fitts’ says bigger “The URL bar should buttons are better.” “What’s with the be removed.” dirty house?” “There should be “My mom doesn’t “Nobody uses the “Add support for a preference setting.” understand tabs.” ‘Go’ button.” BitTorrent.” “OpenID is the future!” “That’s great!” “Everyone uses tags, not bookmarks.” “I love tabs!” “The profile manager should be redesigned.” “Add support for Ogg Vorbis.” “That’s awful” “Closebuttons are better at the end of the tabstrip.”
  • 50. ...and vital. They help products & technology & organization make hard decisions in the right way.
  • 51. Problem #2 At scale, there are no maps
  • 52. Actually, there are maps But they’re everybody else’s maps, and not really yours
  • 54. Key is defining what you care about, and how to measure it, and how to communicate litmus tests
  • 55. Postscript 2 Thoughts for 2009
  • 56. Thought #1 The Web is central (but at some risk)
  • 57. Every browser is getting better on standards, JS performance, etc... But not at the same pace.
  • 58. And this slower pace of change creates real problems for developers
  • 59. Thought #2 Together, we’re all deciding the future of the mobile Web right now
  • 60. Is this what we want? Traditional tight coupling between service, manufacturer & software http://flickr.com/photos/jaboobie/11686470/
  • 61. We can do better than this tethered model On the Web, you don’t have to ask permission
  • 62. Choices have consequences Which one do you want?
  • 63. Questions & Discussion John Lilly - lilly@mozilla.com All content CC-Attribution Thanks & apologies & materials borrowed from: Mike Beltzner, Chris Beard, the Mozilla Community

Editor's Notes