| Many FOSS projects emerged because they solved problems, and people started contributing to them because they also wanted to fix the problems they encountered. A project grows when its end users find it useful for their needs. And attract people to the same project community for the purpose of sharing. Just like everything has a lifespan, growth is both a sign and a source of success for open source projects. So how can project leaders and maintainers incentivize the growth of the contributor base? Here are five ways. |
Many FOSS projects emerged because they solved problems, and people started contributing to them because they also wanted to fix the problems they encountered. A project grows when its end users find it useful for their needs. And attract people to the same project community for the purpose of sharing.
Just like everything has a lifespan, growth is both a sign and a source of success for open source projects. So how can project leaders and maintainers incentivize the growth of the contributor base? Here are five ways.
1. Provide good documentation
People often underestimate the importance of project documentation . It is the main source of information for project contributors and it motivates them to work hard. Information must be correct and up to date. It should include steps on how to build the software, how to submit patches, a coding style guide, etc.
Check out seasoned tech writer and editor Bob Reselman's 7 rules for creating world-class documents .
A good example of developer documentation is the Python Developer's Guide . It includes clear and concise steps covering all aspects of Python development.
2. Lower barriers to entry
If your project has a ticket or bug tracking tool , make sure to mark the primary task as a "bug" or "starting point". New contributors can easily enter the project by addressing these issues. The tracking tool is also where non-programming tasks such as graphic design, artwork, and documentation improvements are flagged. There are many project members who don't code every day, but are motivated in this way.
The Fedora Project maintains a tracker of such easy-to-fix and entry-level issues .
3. Provide general feedback on patches
Acknowledge each patch, even if it's only one line of code, and give feedback to the author. Providing feedback helps attract potential candidates and guides them through the project. All projects should have a mailing list and chat function for communication. Question answering can take place in these mediums. Most projects don't succeed overnight, but those thriving lists and communication channels create the environment for growth.
4. Promote your project
A project that started out as a solution to a problem might actually be useful to other developers as well. As the main contributor to the project, it is your responsibility to document and promote your project. Write blog posts and share project progress on social media. You can start with a brief description of how to become a contributor to the project, and in that description provide reference links to the main developer documentation. Also, be sure to include information about the roadmap and future releases.
For your audience, check out these writing tips written by Opensource.com Community Manager Rikki Endsley .
5. Be friendly
A friendly conversational tone and prompt responses will reinforce interest in your project. Initially, these questions are just for help, but in the future new contributors may also contribute ideas or suggestions. Give them confidence that they can be a contributor to the project.
Remember you are being judged all the time! People watch how project developers talk on mailing lists or chat. These imply a degree of welcome and openness to new contributors. We sometimes forget about humanity when working with technology, but this is important to any project's ecosystem. Consider a situation where the project is great, but the project maintainer is not very popular. Such administrators may drive users away from the project. For projects with a large user base, an unsupported environment can lead to splits, where some users may decide to fork the project and start a new one. There is precedent for this in the open source world.
Also, having people from diverse backgrounds is important to the continued growth and flow of ideas for open source projects.
Finally, the project leader is responsible for sustaining and helping the project grow. Mentoring new contributors is key to the project, and they will become future leaders of the project and the community.