How Target Made It Super Easy for Developers to Contribute to Open Source - Linux Foundation Open Source Leadership Summit 2018
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Target Corporation has streamlined the process for developers to contribute to open source by establishing clear procedures, including a dedicated open source panel and a legal framework. Developers can either contribute to existing projects or create new ones, with a focus on maintaining high code quality and community engagement. The company emphasizes the importance of organized processes, ongoing education, and sharing successes within the open source community.
How Target Made It Super Easy for Developers to Contribute to Open Source - Linux Foundation Open Source Leadership Summit 2018
- 1. How Target Made It Super Easy for Developers to Contribute to Open Source Dan Cundiff (pmotch), Target Corporation
- 3. A pivot using open source
- 4. If you use it, naturally you’ll want to contribute as well
- 5. Pre-sell to as many influencers and decision makers as you can
- 6. Find an executive who will back it
- 7. Draft a position on paper
- 8. Get legal, security, communications involved
- 9. Make the barriers as low as possible
- 10. Two choices: 1. Contributing to existing project 2. Open source a new project
- 11. Contributing to existing projects • Things like bug fixes, features, etc • Get a +1 from a coworker • Make it good code (reputation is on the line) • Don’t reveal company IP • Ask contributor to use their @target.com email • Larger contributions should have another person review the work
- 12. Open sourcing whole projects does require a process (but it’s not too bad)
- 13. Open source a new project • Everything from the other approach, plus… • Reviewed by the Open Source Panel • Purge git history • Use appropriate license • Be ready to own it going forward (community, issues, PRs, etc) • Have a backup • Write and blog about it
- 14. Open Source Panel is a set of volunteers + legal who get it and are willing to execute the process
- 15. Panel meets once a week and “mobs” the backlog together
- 16. Use a GitHub repo issues list to track new project intake
- 17. Project organization • Use GitHub org (https://github.com/target) • If it’s a big enough project, separate out into its own org (https://github.com/k8guard) • Use issues, releases, etc • Good README, CHANGELOG, LICENSE, CODE_OF_CONDUCT, CONTRIBUTING • Use all the features of GitHub too (PR templates, etc) • Stitch up CI
- 18. Simple wiki page for the process
- 19. Getting a proper legal policy doc in place
- 20. Repeat on the inside with Inner Sourcing
- 21. Establishing an open source office
- 22. Open Source Office • Be a clearing house for updates (inner source and open source) • Groom projects • Manage common tools/SaaS used across projects (Pypi, DockerHub, TravisCI, etc) • Court new projects • Help establish partnerships • Manage CCLAs (ones we sign and ones we have others sign) • Run the Open Source Panel mob • Measure success • License matters
- 23. Retiring projects the Etsy way
- 24. Challenges • If you’re selling it now, be prepared that it will take time • Keep the process simple as reasonable • Volunteers running the panel needs dedicated time • Finding volunteers that actually want to help execute the process • Vetting the author make sure they’re up for the required maintenance • Measuring things is hard
- 25. Summary • Passionate individuals will sell the idea of using an contributing to open source; join them or help their cause • Get organized and establish a process and policy • Start doing it, learn from each experience, and keep making it better • Enjoy the benefits and share results with others in the community