10 secrets to sustainable open source communities; great presentation about open source communities

A while back I have encountered a great presentation about open source communities titled 10 secrets to sustainable open source communities which has been delivered by Elizabeth Leddy at OSCON 2013.

The presentation primarily talks about author’s experience with the Plone project and community, but the lessons and observations in it can be applied to pretty much any open source project out there.

One of the slides from the presentation

Why I find this presentation so good you might ask? Here are some highlights from the presentation:

  • Open source is more than just contributing code
  • In many cases open source projects outlast relationships and jobs
  • A community can as as your extended family
  • People move on (aka life happens) so you should plan accordingly
  • Measuring community success is important
  • Diversity is important
  • Communication is important
  • Transparency is important
  • In-person communication and meetups are important
  • Soft skills are important
  • Project governance is important

For more, I encourage you to go check out the presentation.