The document discusses strategies for effective collaboration in open source projects, emphasizing the importance of aligning contributions with business goals and fostering strong community relationships. It outlines practical steps for getting started, including understanding project dynamics, iterating based on feedback, and managing maintenance expectations. Additionally, it provides resources for further learning about open source collaboration.

1. Open Source Collaboration:
Finding the Right Balance
Dawn M. Foster
Open Source Software Strategy Lead at Pivotal
dafoster@pivotal.io @geekygirldawn fastwonderblog.com

2. About Me
! Geek, traveler, reader
! OSS Strategy Lead at Pivotal
! 20+ year tech career focused on
community & open source
(Intel, Jive, Puppet Labs, etc.)
! PhD at the University of Greenwich
researching the Linux kernel
!2
Photos by Josh Bancroft, Don Park

3. How Does Collaboration Work
in Open Source Projects?
!3

4. Structure
!4
Leadership
Maintainers Maintainers Maintainers
Committers
Committers
Committers
Committers
Committers
Committers
Contributors Contributors Contributors
Committers
Contributors Contributors
Contributors Contributors Contributors Contributors Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Users Users Users Users Users Users

5. Individuals
Employees Contribute
Individuals as Leaders
Small World
!5

6. Contribution Strategy
and Plans
!6

7. Contribution Strategy and Plans
Align with business goals
Execs understand importance
Employees understand impact
of their work
!7
Image by Nick Youngston, Alpha Stock Images CC BY-SA

8. Which Open Source Projects?
Already Use
Existing Contributions
!8
Image by Colleen Simon for Opensource.com CC BY-SA

9. Resources Required
Grow vs. Hire
Funding for Membership
!9

10. Resources Required
Guidelines / Processes
OSS Program Office
!10
Image by Nick Youngston, Alpha Stock Images CC BY-SA

11. Measure Success
Criteria for Success
Data Required (CHAOSS)
!11

12. Good Corporate Citizen
!12

13. Getting Started
Join
Read the Docs
Lurk & Understand
Start Small
!13
Image by Filip Maljković CC BY-SA

14. Learn from Feedback
Avoid Getting Defensive
May Need to Iterate
!14

15. Work with the Community
Discuss Changes
Early and Often
Lack of Control
!15
Image by The Linux Foundation CC BY

16. Relationships
Attend Events
Get to Know People
!16
Image by The Linux Foundation CC BY

17. Upstream your Patches
Reduces Your Overhead
Benefits the Community
Right Thing to Do
!17

18. Maintenance Expectations
Small Contributions vs.
Large Contributions
!18

19. Open Sourcing Your Software
No Dumping
Maintenance
Community
!19
Image by C. Watts CC BY

20. Resources /
References
Learn more about
open source
collaboration and
related topics.
Linux Foundation TODO Group
! https://www.linuxfoundation.org/
resources/open-source-guides/
GitHub
! https://opensource.guide/
Red Hat’s Opensource.com
! https://opensource.com/
resources
!20

21. !21
Dawn M. Foster
dafoster@pivotal.io @geekygirldawn fastwonderblog.com
Thank You and Questions

22. !22
Transforming How The World Builds Software