Note: This blog post and interview is cross-posted on Linux.com
Starting an open source program office is a growing trend among companies that leverage open source software in their business strategies.
Led by an open source program officer, open source offices can range in size from one or two advocates on an engineering team to an entirely separate R&D division. But the goal is the same: to strategically address common challenges companies face when adopting open source software.
Last week, the TODO Group led a track at the Collaboration Summit which featured a variety of talks dedicated to open source program management.
today we are happy to host the TODO (open source program management) track at #lfcollab today, we'll be tweeting! pic.twitter.com/h8zOxn4D9F
— TODO Group (#OSPO) (@todogroup) March 30, 2016 Listed below are some of slides from TODO members given at the Collaboration Summit:
Gil Yehuda (@gyehuda) runs the Open Source Programs Office (OSPO) at Yahoo and presented a talk highlighting some of the governance issues facing corporate based open source program offices.
Yesterday, the TODO Group announced new members (Autodesk, CapitalOne, Netflix, and SanDisk) and moving to the Linux Foundation as a Collaborative Project.
We are excited as this move will help formalize the group legally (see our charter) and allow us to scale the group with additional members. The Linux Foundation provides a great home for us and is a very trusted host with collaborative projects such as the NodeJS Foundation, Open Container Initiative and LetsEncrypt.
No matter the size of the organization, running an Open Source Programs Office requires staying on top of several things at once. While the processes between organizations might vary, many of run into a common set of needs and have subsequently developed a set of tools to manage corporate scale open source needs. As part of the TODO Group, we have started sharing those tools with each other and the open source community at large.
Growing a successful open source project takes more than code; it takes a healthy community where contributors can engage in deep conversations with respect. A code of conduct can be one important tool in helping a community uphold its own values.
Last year, the TODO Group explored building a code of conduct template. Our goal was to share our experiences with each other, and encourage other communities to consider similar principles when building their open source projects.
July 20, 2015
by
Brandon Keepers
(GitHub)
Update: We will not be continuing work on the open code of conduct. See our followup post for more information.
We believe open source communities should be a welcoming place for all participants. Through our experiences within the TODO Group, we strongly believe that a code of conduct helps set the ground rules for participation in communities and helps build a culture of respect. By adopting and honoring a code of conduct, communities can communicate their values, set expectations and outline a process for dealing with unwelcome behavior when it arises.
July 15, 2015
by
Benjamin VanEvery
(Box)
This time around we feature Benjamin VanEvery (@bvanevery) from Box on how a company new to open source gets started developing an Open Source Office. The goal of this post is to shed some light on starting up an Open Source Office by sharing experiences at Box.
Several past blog articles have focused on why each of our companies got involved in open source. Each has been enlightening to read through and get a glimpse of what open source means to the individual companies how it impacts their cultures.
We had an opportunity to speak at OSCON 2016, the slides are provided below:
Thank you to everyone who attended our session and asked questions! If you’re interested in joining the TODO Group, please reach out over Twitter!
See a follow up blog from Ben VanEvery about his experience starting the Open Source Office at Box.
April 2, 2015
by
Gianugo Rabellino
(Microsoft)
This is the next in our series of blog posts from TODO Group members, explaining why each company is committed to open source software. This week, we feature Gianugo Rabellino (@gianugo), Sr. Director, Open Source Communities at Microsoft Open Technologies.
Five years ago I was flying back from my interview at Microsoft and jotting down a pros and cons list. I ended up focusing on one item. It was on both columns and it was staring at me.
March 24, 2015
by
Chris Aniszczyk
(CNCF)
This is the fifth in a series of blog posts from TODO Group members, explaining why each company is committed to open source software. This week, we feature Chris Aniszczyk (@cra), who’s in charge of open source at Twitter.
Since Twitter’s early days, open source has been a pervasive part of our engineering culture. Every Tweet you send and receive touches a plethora of open source software on its journey from our Linux-based infrastructure to your device.
