The document discusses three initiatives by OW2 to engage mainstream open source software users: 1) Beta-testing campaigns to align developer expectations with user needs and identify exploitation opportunities. 2) Applying "Market Readiness Levels" to provide a simple indicator of a project's maturity to help users make decisions. 3) The "Good Governance Initiative" to help users securely and responsibly use OSS while supporting the open source ecosystem.

1. Bringing the User into the Equation
Three initiatives by OW2 to engage with mainstream OSS users
Cedric Thomas, OW2
SFScon 2020
November, 2020

2. Cedric Thomas, OW2
About OW2 A global non-profit open source organization
Promote the development of a portfolio of open-source components for
enterprise information systems.
Foster the growth of a community and business ecosystem.
OW2 is a community-driven organization
Code base of some 100 third-party projects developed by communities
and members. OW2 does not own project IP.
Independent, open source governance: Board of directors, Technology
Council and Project Leader accountability.
Focus on project quality and market readiness
Launch of third generation support program: Market Readiness Levels
methodology applied to OW2 projects.
Independent technical infrastructure and community governance system
provide input to market readiness assessment.

3. 3Cedric Thomas, OW2
Mainstream User
Beta-Testing
Market Readiness
Good Governance

4. 4Cedric Thomas, OW2
DeveloperDeveloper EntrepreneurEntrepreneur EcosystemEcosystem IndustryIndustry
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Opportunistic disruption
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Organic response
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Strategic commoditization
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Collaborative innovation
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Concentration
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Expansion
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£
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¥
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£
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Individualistic intention
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Ethical sharing

5. 5Cedric Thomas, OW2
Sustainability Matters OpenSSL
Only one person working full time
Licenses with clause
MongoDB (Server-Side Public License), License
zero
Financing platforms
Tidelift, Open Collective, Patreon, GitHub Sponsors
Gig economy
Donations

6. Cedric Thomas, OW2
Meet the Conventional Decision
Makers
Educated with proprietary software
May be wary of open source
Not an open source activist
May be away from technology
A corporate executive
Limited time to drill down into issues
Reports to a boss (CIO, CEO, GM, etc.)
Makes a business decision

7. 7Cedric Thomas, OW2
Users Expect more than Code
Developer User /
Customer
Code
POCs
Use-cases
Demonstrators
Doc.Tutos.
Testing
Upgrades
Bug-fixing
Training
Support
Packaging
Casestudies
Collateral
Pricing
Contracts
Earlyadopters
Partners
Complements
Etc.
Predictability
Quality
Trust
Market Value
Research &
Development
Delivery
Challenge OSS

8. 8Cedric Thomas, OW2
OSS Value is Created by the
Ecosystem
Developer User /
Customer
Code
POCs
Use-cases
Demonstrators
Doc.Tutos.
Testing
Upgrades
Bug-fixing
Training
Support
Packaging
Casestudies
Collateral
Pricing
Contracts
Earlyadopters
Partners
Complements
Etc.
Predictability
Quality
Trust
Market Value
Research &
Development
Delivery
Challenge OSS
Contributors
Distrib. Vendors
Users
Fiduciary Services Open Source Orgs.
Systems Integrators

9. 9Cedric Thomas, OW2
Mainstream User
Beta-Testing
Market Readiness
Good Governance

10. 10Cedric Thomas, OW2
Involving Users with Beta-Testing
Developer User /
Customer
Code
POCs
Use-cases
Demonstrators
Doc.Tutos.
Testing
Upgrades
Bug-fixing
Training
Support
Packaging
Casestudies
Collateral
Pricing
Contracts
Earlyadopters
Partners
Complements
Etc.
Predictability
Quality
Trust
Market Value
Research &
Development
Delivery
Challenge OSS
Contributors
Distrib. Vendors
Users
Fiduciary Services Open Source Orgs.
Systems Integrators

11. 11Cedric Thomas, OW2
Beta-Testing in the Software
Development Cycle
A form of external user acceptance testing
Released to a limited audience external to the
programming team
Time-bound into a campaign

12. 12Cedric Thomas, OW2
Why a Beta-Testing Campaign
Helps align developers expectations by
providing them a single point of convergence
Generates quality because a beta version
usually undergoes a full cycle of internal system and
usability testing
Enforces product attributes, such as
packaging, tutorials, documentation, installation, on-
line user support, promotion, etc.
Helps identify exploitation opportunities
reported by beta testers who are external potential
users
Benefits by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

13. 13Cedric Thomas, OW2
ReachOut BetaCenter
Blueprint for Beta-Testing Campaigns
Campaign Page
Form-based and customizable
Beta documentation template
Checklist and examples
Feedback collection
Draft Questionnaire
Management tool
Monitoring dashboard
Communication Package
Pre-written mails and communication material
Fine print
Agreement, Consent, Disclaimer, GDPR notice
Photo credit: CC BY Holger Zscheyge
https://www.reachout-project.eu/

14. 14Cedric Thomas, OW2
Define Goals and Scope of the Campaign
Identify and Assign Key Roles
On-going recruitment of beta testers and
follow-ups.
Organization of support actions:
workshops, webinars, etc.
1-2 months 1 month
A Campaign Timeline
1-2 months
Closing
People
Writing
Technology
Strategy
Prepare Software
Draft Testing Scenario
Develop Beta Documentation
Develop Communication Material
Build contact list
Engage with Beta Testers
Analyse feedback
Share results

15. 15Cedric Thomas, OW2
Mainstream User
Beta-Testing
Market Readiness
Good Governance

16. 16Cedric Thomas, OW2
Helping User Decision Making
Developer User /
Customer
Code
POCs
Use-cases
Demonstrators
Doc.Tutos.
Testing
Upgrades
Bug-fixing
Training
Support
Packaging
Casestudies
Collateral
Pricing
Contracts
Earlyadopters
Partners
Complements
Etc.
Predictability
Quality
Trust
Market Value
Research &
Development
Delivery
Challenge OSS
Contributors
Distrib. Vendors
Users
Fiduciary Services Open Source Orgs.
Systems Integrators

17. Cedric Thomas, OW2
From Multiple Data
to Simple Market Readiness Levels
Too much data doesn’t help decision.
Composite indicator inspired by NASA’s
Technology Readiness Levels.
Support our project’s life cycles.
Rough Code
Fully Supported Product

18. 18Cedric Thomas, OW2
Market Readiness Levels (MRL)
A Blueprint for OW2 Projects
Established product with properly financed and organized business
support. Customer base, repeat sales and market recognition
Early customer base, appropriate financing or active community
support, recognized software
Early customer base and fledgeling financing or active community
support
Proven product recent, market opening, untested governance
Some customers, recent market opening, un-proven governance
Several users, project leadership well established
One declared user (can be internal) with declared project leader
Basic R&D code developed with one demonstrated use case, some
documentation
Basic R&D code developed
Established player
Actively competitive
Business build-up
Broadening market
Opening market
Usefulness verified
Fledgeling usefulness
Product development
Basic early stage
“flight proven”
“flight qualified”
“prototype in space”
“proven demo”
“relevant envt validation”
“lab validation”
“proof of concept”
“application formulation”
“basic principles”

19. Cedric Thomas, OW2
70 Check Points
Project communication
Project community
Project documentation
Development infrastructure
Project organisation & mgt.
Project licenses
Development process
Testing process
Release management
Security and vulnerability
Community
Agility
Quality
Compliance
Sustainability
Product
Contributors
Support
Customers
Sales
Finances
Recognition
Stage 1:
Project Best practices
Stage 2:
Project Attributes
Stage 3:
Market Capabilities

20. 20Cedric Thomas, OW2
Deploying MRL Mainstream users want more than code
Product attributes create value
Facilitating the discovery of OW2
projects and helping make informed
decisions.
Best practices
Metrics
Market capabilities
A synthetic indicator to help decision
makers
Yet individual metrics still available

21. 21Cedric Thomas, OW2
Mainstream User
Beta-Testing
Market Readiness
Good Governance

22. 22Cedric Thomas, OW2
Users Need Sustainable OSS
Developer User /
Customer
Code
POCs
Use-cases
Demonstrators
Doc.Tutos.
Testing
Upgrades
Bug-fixing
Training
Support
Packaging
Casestudies
Collateral
Pricing
Contracts
Earlyadopters
Partners
Complements
Etc.
Predictability
Quality
Trust
Market Value
Research &
Development
Delivery
Challenge OSS
Contributors
Distrib. Vendors
Users
Fiduciary Services Open Source Orgs.
Systems Integrators

23. 23Cedric Thomas, OW2
Open Source Momentum
Source: Sonatype, DevSecOps Comunity Survey, 2018
And RedHat report 2020
86% of CIOs say most innovative
companies use open source
Open source = innovation
80 to 90% of an application is
composed of reused components
Most of them open source
Original
code

24. 24Cedric Thomas, OW2
The Busy Space of
Open Source
Governance
ToDo Group
and ToDo Goup Europe (LF)
OpenChain initiative (LF)
“Sharing creates value”
GitHub space
OSS Tooling Group
TOSIT
Industrial Open Source Network
DoubleOpen

25. 25Cedric Thomas, OW2
The Good Governance Initiative
A Blueprint for OSS users
- Pyramid by Chiquo - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77918631
- Abraham Maslow, 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" in Psychological Review.
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Behavioral Motivation
Technically using OSS. Technical ability and
experience with OSS. Some OSS awareness.
Securely and responsibly using OSS. Compliance
and dependency management policies.
Implementing best practices. Developing OSS
culture. Sharing experience.
Engaging with the OSS ecosystem. Contributing
back. Developing visibility, event participation.
Embracing the full potential of OSS. Proactively
using OSS for innovation and competitiveness.
5 - Strategy
4 - Engagement
3 - Belonging
2 - Security
1 - Usage
OW2 Stack to OSS Good Governance Maturity

26. 26Cedric Thomas, OW2
The Good Governance Initiative
Resource Center
Open to all.
Join the monthly calls.
Contribute!

27. 27Cedric Thomas, OW2
Summary Mainstream Users
Not an open source activist
Beta-testing
Align development with user expectations
Market Readiness
Helping user decision making
Good Governance
Users supporting the OSS ecosystem

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www.ow2.org
For more details please contact Cedric Thomas, OW2 CEO, cedric.thomas@ow2.org
Thank you!