building communities.v5

8/9/2019 Building Communities.v5

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Building CommunitiesBuilding Communities

Aimed at Package TeamsMay 2010

The big picture(in case you forgot) What motivatescontributors &volunteers Three steps to get

contributions


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Copyright 2009 Symbian Foundation. 2

Before we start

Choose a workpartner, form a

group


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Welcome!

3

Exercise 1


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ANYBODY WHO ISINTERESTED IN THE CODE

Package Owners

Committers

Contributors

ANYBODY WHO ISINTERESTED IN THE CODE

YOU!!! The guardians/ownersof the code in a package

Individuals that are trusted tohave write access to the code

Individuals & companies thatprovide code, raise bugs, helpwith documentation,are active on forums, etc.

Roles in the Community

Prerequisite:

NEED to

participate

People who

CAN do work

for YOU!


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The Big Picture : Need to Participate

5

Contributionsto SymbianDevices

Applications &

Community

Consumer

Demand


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Contributionsto Symbian

SymbianDevicesApplications &

Community

Consumer

Demand


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7


Symbian

Devices

Applications &CommunityConsumer

Demand


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Symbian

Devices

Applications &

Community

ConsumerDemand


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9


Symbian

Devices

Applications &

Community

Consumer

Demand

Create NEEDsto participate& contribute


10/42Copyright 2009 Symbian Foundation. 10

Why Open Source?

Contributions CAN significantly offset the Open Source Tax

Why go open source in the first place, if this was not true?

Open sourceCANcreate a vibrant eco-system

more NEED to contributeeven more contributions


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Owning a package is not free!!

Copyright 2009 Symbian Foundation.11

Open Source Tax = resource is used because: People in package specific roles spend some percentage of their

time

Monitoring and answering questions on mailing lists,forums, etc.

Engaging with councils and the foundation

Managing package specific resources such as Wikis,

backlogs, bugzilla, etc.

Negotiating with internal stake-holders (within and outsidetheir team)

Going to community events

Promoting their package

Keeping public and internal SCM and bug tracking systems in

sync Deciding what features differentiate vs. collaboration

Deciding how to work with the competition(commonly called co-opetition 1) )

1)

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coopetition


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Contributions dont just come


Consider the following experiences from other open source

projects (Eclipse & Apache, selected packages)

If you open source it or built it, they (contributors) will come

In reality this rarely happens

If this were true, we would have much more contributions

Just look at sourceforge.com and its many dead projects

Getting Contributions = putting in effort = Higher Tax Active evangelism, solicitation and selling your technology

You are lucky: technology managers are here to help, but they cant do italone

Successful Open Source Projects =

Technology demand

= the technology is wanted Diverse Contributions

= many contributions from many companies

Alignment between open source and commercial products= yourself and contributors benefit from collaborating


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So, what does this mean?


Put in little Put in enough =Get contributions Few contributions

Little to offset the OpenSource Tax

Development has justbecome

more complex

more expensive

fornoreturn

Contributions offset the OpenSource Tax

can also help reduce risk!

can lead to better technicalsolutions (differentviewpoints make better use-cases)

Development has become

cheaper but not necessarily simpler !

Your team can focus onfeatures that differentiate


14/42Copyright 2009 Symbian Foundation. 14

Sharad, the organizerpackage worked

with SUN to add CalDavsupport to the calendar app.

Sharadput a lot of

effort workingwith Max

Max, the committer has beenVERY active at SEE 2009

The SUN feature will beused by Nokia

Example: Organizer package

SUN has NOW a committeron the package

(Max Odendahl)
http://blog.symbian.org/2010/02/25/%EF%BB%BF%EF%BB%BFcaldav-support-for-symbian-a-contribution-by-sun-microsystems/http://blog.symbian.org/2009/12/07/meet-%20maximilian-odendahl-committer/http://blog.symbian.org/2009/12/07/meet-%20maximilian-odendahl-committer/http://blog.symbian.org/2010/02/25/%EF%BB%BF%EF%BB%BFcaldav-support-for-symbian-a-contribution-by-sun-microsystems/


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Momentum is Building


19 Major Contribution Proposals (see the pipeline)

10 from Nokia 2 from Sasken

1 from Acrodea, Accenture , Deutsche Telekom , EmbedDev, Ixonos, K3, Packet Video

Feature Contributions & Enhancements in MCL 291 from Nokia

18 from 14 different companies

Package Ownership 130 packages owned by Nokia

2 packages owned by Ixonos

1 package each owned by Accenture, EmbedDev, Sasken

Defect Fixes Between 10-40 proposed per week

Between 10-20 handled per week

Incubation & Community Projects Wild Ducks (Hardware)

Software Freedom Fighters (GCC Compiler)

Python

Homescreen backporting project

Bug Squad
http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Proposals_pipelinehttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Proposals_pipeline


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What motivates Contributors & Volunteers

Copyright 2009 Symbian Foundation.


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To build a vibrant community you need...

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Vision / Goal

Motivation / Need

Momentum

Good Environment

Make $$$s

Opportunity

Personal belief(passion)

Learning

Documentation

Expectation setting

As a newcomer, can I get started easily? Is there a friendly atmosphere?

What is mycommunity tryingto achieve?

Is stuffhappening?

Good Leadership Is somebody building,

leading, motivating andguiding the community?


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Motivation: why companies contribute code?


Companies and individuals contribute to satisfy aselfish NEED

Reduce cost:

Avoid re-applying defect fixes onto different releases

Avoid branching (and associated costs)

Enable other business:

Add APIs/Frameworks that enable a service or a product that is sold

Add enablers or a to a platform

Protect investment:

Establish your software as de-facto standard before somebody else does

Gain and maintain influence over software that is critical to the business

Opportunity to gain an advantage

E.g. professional services companies owning a package

Legal reasons: copy-left

Understanding these NEEDs is one of the keys to getting contributions Often companies are looking to project leads/package owners for advice !

Understanding these NEEDs helps convince companies to contribute !


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Motivation / NEEDs of Individuals

Passion / Conviction

E.g. I believe in free software and want to make a difference(Software Freedom Fighters)

Getting my code used by many people(= get my code into the MCL)

Kudos / recognition / stardom

Make my life easier

solve an annoyance that I can solve because of open source(Homescreen backporting)

Learn something

Improve future job prospects

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Welcome!

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Exercise 2


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Three steps to get contributions


Package Owner Portal

(Useful resources for Package Owners)
http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Package_Ownershttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Committershttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Package_Owners


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Three steps to get Contributions Step 1: Create the right Environment

Good information about your package: help people get started and

set expectations

Vision: tell the community what you need

Tips and tricks re: behavior and momentum

Step 2: Evangelize your technology create Buzz

Online media such as blogs, etc.

Events, talks, meetings, etc.

Step 3: Actively recruit contributors This is pretty difficult and requires practice and building experience

A supportive package team, whereseveral team members play a role,makes a big difference

Not an easy job! The foundation can help with 2 & 3


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Step 1: Good Information = Presence

Copyright 2009 Symbian Foundation.

Presenceis importantfor companies& people whowant tocontribute

Ask yourself how futurecontributors find out about your

package ? Landing Page, Wikis

Backlogs & TODO List

Vision

Ask yourself how futurecontributors get first in touch with

you ? Mailing lists

Forums

Bugzilla

Can a newcomer get startedeasily?

Have I explained what anewcomer can expect?

Lack of information = Not being present

= No contributions


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Momentum

Nothing appears to happen in the project / package

A contributor is likely be scared off(a bit like: I want to be friends with a popular guy vs. a loner)

How is momentum perceived

Public channels: activity on mailing list & forum

Activity in the code repository Bugzilla activity

Other on-line presence: IRC, twitter, blog, news section in Wiki

Momentum can be engineered

Get your team to use the public channels (instead of e-mail)

Develop and discuss what you can in the open

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Nothing is happening = lack of momentum= I dont want to be the first!

Lack of responsiveness = bad first impression= impacts interaction


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Avoid Misunderstandings

Contributor proposes a fix

Package owner responds quickly(really a good thing), BUT he says:

Thanks for the proposal. However, the fix is not exactly

correct so I will fix this myself(no real explanation why contribution is rejected)

Private e-mail discussion ensues(should be public)

Contributor complains on mailing list and threatensto disengage

Initially, no response frompackage


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Some tricks regarding communicating

Introductions and communication

Introduce new community members(e.g. Committers, contributors) on mailing lists or your blogOR ask these people to introduce themselves

Encourage people sending e-mail to use your mailing lists

Thanking Thank people who raise a bug, provide a patch, etc. on your

mailing list

Respond

Sometimes you wont have time to respond immediately Thats OK, but respond and say I cant do this now, but will

get back to you in 2 weeks. Remind me if I have not done so!

Give feedback

If for technical reasons you cant handle a contribution at the

moment explain why


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Relationships are Key


Meet face to face

Combine with events and already planned travel

Always build in a social element: lunchesclubs, beers, dinners, stammtisch, etc.

Especially if you have a community already

IF you can make your community a friendlyplace, where people's opinions are takenseriously and are acted upon, THENindividualswill work harder to convince their management tostay engaged with your package and make more

contributions. IF it is NOT a friendly place, withno trust and respect built, they may contributesomething and then move on.


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Step 1: codified in the Best Practices

http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/

Package_owner_best_practice

Contains

Values

Responsibilities

Examples of Good vs. Bad behaviour (based on real examples) Rights

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Read the documentGive us feedback
http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Package_owner_best_practicehttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Package_owner_best_practicehttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Package_owner_best_practicehttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Package_owner_best_practicehttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Package_owner_best_practice


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Step 2: Evangelize your Technology


Evangelizing gets you noticed by potential contributors

Every open source community evangelizes Not doing so puts you at a disadvantage

Creates potential connections that can lead to contributions

Examples:

Chris Duddings Blog on Planet Symbian

Chandradeep Gandhis Blog on Planet Symbian

Getting to know the packages... on the Symbian Blog

Channels:

Your or your teams blog

Magnified through planet.symbian.org

Getting to know the packages blog series

Host Community events (e.g. Stammtisch)

Conferences (see our Event Calendar)

Talks & Panels

Host Bird of a Feather sessions

Go to local Hackatons

Being presentis not enough!Presence only getsyou noticed bythose looking

for you!
http://cdudding.wordpress.com/http://planet.symbian.org/http://cgandhi.wordpress.com/http://planet.symbian.org/http://blog.symbian.org/category/community/http://planet.symbian.org/http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Symbian_Stammtischhttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Calendar:Community_Eventshttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Calendar:Community_Eventshttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Symbian_Stammtischhttp://planet.symbian.org/http://blog.symbian.org/category/community/http://planet.symbian.org/http://cgandhi.wordpress.com/http://planet.symbian.org/http://cdudding.wordpress.com/


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Welcome!

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Exercise 3


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Now to the REALLY

hard part

Step 3: Activelyrecruit contributors


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Members 2009


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Using and making Industry Contacts


Initially use existing contacts that you and your team has.

You probably know them already on a personal level Thus, you will feel more comfortable having a discussion

They will be more friendly

Ways how to leverage existing contacts:

Network with people in Nokia who have open source experience

Discussions on how your contacts might benefit from contributing

(e.g. practice with friendly suppliers and partners) Other team members contacts, e.g. product & line managers, etc.

(get introductions, involve them, get their advice, etc.)

Companies that work with other open source projects

You can learn about their motivation (NEED)

Often they like talking about what they are doing and why

Be aware of the competitive landscape

makes it easier to know whom to approach

makes it easier to point out contribution opportunities

Talk to your competitors (e.g. at conferences)

BUT: align and keep in touch with your managers
http://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Building_a_community_for_a_packagehttp://developer.symbian.org/wiki/index.php/Building_a_community_for_a_package


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Asking

companies for contributions

is NEVER enough. Companies

and individuals contribute

for a reason (a NEED). Ask yourself:

What is theincentive for

companies tohelp you?

If there is no incentive, therewill be no contribution.

Where is the NEED?


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NEEDs for features createsOPPORTUNITY for contributors


Gaps in the platform + products built on top of it = NEED

Example: the IXONOS single tap contribution

Sharing plans to fill a gap too early can destroy a NEED

Not sharing plans erodes confidence in your package

Bridges to 3rd party products and services = NEED

Example: peripherals, Baseports, connectors to service APIs convergence

creates many of these

Motivation: more sales for the 3rd party

Apps exploiting cutting edge technology = NEED

Example: Augmented Reality Apps may benefit from an AR framework

Motivation: save cost & influence what the framework looks like

Professional services companies may have very different NEEDs, e.g.

track record to show their work, to get them more business

Patterns for NEEDs will differ depending on technology

You will need to learn through experience


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Other Tactics


The best one is to be able to explain a NEED to a contributor

BUT remember: if you explain to an engineer, he will have to talk to

his managers first

Advertise NEEDs on your blog, on the package Wiki (Hot Bugs =Attention_Required keyword), during face to face meetings.

BUT: but don't be desperate about it

AND contributions still need to fulfil quality, architectural, etc.

standards so dont take any contribution just because it satisfies aNEED

Sometimes you can create a NEED

By developing & publishing a proof of concept to a FCL

Evangelizing what you have done (on blogs, etc.)

This has been shown to work (but will not always work)

Foundation staff can help identify NEEDs

Check the IDEAS site (ideas.symbian.org)


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Make use of the Foundation

Copyright 2009 Symbian Foundation.40

Foundation staff have a network of connections In particular Technology Managers, Community

Managers and our membership team

Bounce ideas and problems past them

Get introductions

Foundation staff can help identify NEEDs

If you approach a company

Keep your technology manager informed(builds trust)

If you need advice, just ask


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You SHOULD read ...

The Art of Community

By Jono Bacon

http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/

Interesting and relevant

Chapter 1 (What is Community). Chapter 2 (Planning), Chapter 6(Communicating), 7 (Measuring Success)

& 9 (Handling Conflict) Free on-line version

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Focuses on how to attractindividuals to a community

But also on generaldifficulties, recipes, etc. Onbuilding communities
http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/downloads/jonobacon-theartofcommunity-1ed.pdfhttp://www.artofcommunityonline.org/downloads/jonobacon-theartofcommunity-1ed.pdfhttp://www.artofcommunityonline.org/downloads/jonobacon-theartofcommunity-1ed.pdfhttp://www.artofcommunityonline.org/downloads/jonobacon-theartofcommunity-1ed.pdfhttp://www.artofcommunityonline.org/


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Welcome!Make a pledge

building communities.v5

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