Project Governance

Project Governance

• 1.
  Project Governance mark.johnson@it.ox.ac.uk @marxjohnson
• 2.
  In this session Whatare governace models? Why are they important in FOSS projects? Varieties of Governence models Contribution management styles Reflection on your own governance model
• 3.
  What's Governance? The rolesand processes for decision making within a project Gardler, R. Hanganu, G. et al – Governance Models Informs potential contributors Assures potential users Helps build sustainability Retains Control Helps the project achieve its goals
• 4.
  Governance in Ubuntu http://www.ubuntu.com/about/about-ubuntu/governance Ensures... 1)There is a defined process that helps people contribute 2) Decisions are taken in a fair and transparent manner 3) Necessary decisions are taken, even when there's no clear consensus. There's also a clear path for appeal. What's Governance?
• 5.
  Styles of Governance Benevolent Dictatorship Meritocracy (Formal)
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  Benevolent Dictator Gardler, Rand Hanganu, G. et al - Benevolent dictator governance model Folgel, K. - Producing Open Source Software
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  ● Sensitivity toyour own influence ● Letting people air ideas (even stupid ones) ● Ability to acknowledge own mistakes ● Ability to recognise good design ● Personality Folgel, K. Qualities of a Benevolent Dictator
• 8.
  Linus's take onbeing nice "If you want me to "act professional", I can tell you that I'm not interested. I'm sitting in my home office wearign [sic] a bathrobe. The same way I'm not going to start wearing ties, I'm *also* not going to buy into the fake politeness, the lying, the office politics and backstabbing, the passive aggressiveness, and the buzzwords. Because THAT is what "acting professionally" results in: people resort to all kinds of really nasty things because they are forced to act out their normal urges in unnatural ways."
• 9.
  Meritocracy "Power for thosewho earn it"
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  Meritocracy Gardler, R andHanganu, G. et al – Meritocratic governance model Helen contributes work to the project Helen gains respect from peers Respect gives Helen's voice more weight in discussions Helen is elected or appointed to a leadership position
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  ● Inclusive – Equalityof opportunity ● Operates on consensus rather than votes ● "Lazy Consensus" helps expedite non-controversial decisions Meritocracy
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  Ubuntu – Strikinga balance Read the Ubuntu Governance handout What are the roles? How are decisions made? Is it a Benevolent Dictatorship or a Meritocracy?
• 13.
  Project Management Raymond, E.- The Cathedral and the Bazaar
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  Cathedral ● Small group ofexperts ● Infrequent release cycle ● Heavily tested ● Contributions subject to heavy review
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  Bazaar ● Larger, less formalgroup ● "Release Early, Release Often" ● "With enough eyes, all bugs are shallow" ● Responsive to user and tester feedback
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  Benevolent Dictator Formal Meritocracy Cathedral Bazaar Less open to participatory governance Moreopen to participatory governance Less open to external contribution More open to external contribution GNU Emacs (c. 1997) Ubuntu Apache HTTPD Apache OODT Linux
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  Reflection Activity ● Think abouthow decision are made within your project, and how contributions are handled ● Look at the graph of governance and contribution models ● Where does your project current sit? ● Where do you think it should sit?
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  Summary ● Governance is importantto define and communicate how your project operates ● You need to strike the right balances to retain the right amount of control while inviting the right amount of contribution ● There's no "one true way", it depends on your project's goals ● Communicating your governance model effectively is important for managing the expectations of contributors
• 19.
  Questions? Cathedral, Frankfurt byBrian Burger http://www.flickr.com/photos/wirelizard/1414035429/ Istanbul - Grand Bazaar by Roger Woolstadt http://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/3498051077 Saint IGNUcius speaking by Beatrice Murch http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmurch/3001698026/ P1010100 by dazfuller http://www.flickr.com/photos/68293811@N00/4043153407 Image Credits References Gardler, R and Hanganu, G. et al (2013) Governance Models http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/resources/governanceModels Gardler, R. and Hanganu, G. et al (2013) Benevolent Dictator Governance Model http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/resources/benevolentdictatorgovernancemodel Gardler, R. and Hanganu, G. et al (2013) Meritocratic Governance Model http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/resources/meritocraticGovernanceModel Fogel, K. (2005) "What makes a good benevolent dictator?" Producing Open Source Software http://producingoss.com/html-chunk/social-infrastructure.html#benevolent-dictator Raymond, E. (2000) The Cathedral and the Bazaar http://catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/ Canonical Ltd. Governance http://www.ubuntu.com/about/about-ubuntu/governance Linux Namesake argues in favour of being a jerk http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.822248-Linux-Namesake-Argues-In-Favor-Of-Being-A-Jerk