Closed source a few things

! Closed source a few things Ben Balter @benbalter [email protected]
government.github.com

! In the beginning, there was open source…

PDP-1 (or so I’m told)

Open source at the Tech Model Railroad Club

! All the easy problems have already been solved

‣ How to convey material goods over large distances ‣
How to disseminate text-based information to a large audience ‣ In computer science, just about everything up to the application layer Things people don’t worry about

! Developers should focus on solving unsolved challenges

! Unlike literature, through object code  software allows us to
obscure   from others what we’ve learned

! All alchemists had to   discover for themselves that
drinking mercury would kill you

! Why closed source?

! Open source used to be hard

! Open source software used to be terrible

! Open source works behind the scenes

! Open source isn’t marketed (think suits versus t-shirts)

! Today, tech companies open source everything but the secret
sauce

Startups twitter.github.io yelp.github.io

netﬂix.github.io adobe.github.io

Tech Giants sap.github.io ibm.github.io microsoft.github.io

! Let’s say you and I want to lock our
front door

! We each design a lock, install it in the
door, and carry the key

! We’re also both human. Our locks are flawed

! You keep the design to yourself. After all, it’s
a lock.

! I share my design with others, keeping the specifics
of my key

! Neither of us are full-time locksmiths, and go about
doing the thing we originally set out to do

! As people install my lock in different places they
find and fix flaws. My lock gets better.

! A robber tries common ways   to break into
both houses.   Whose stuff is more secure?

! Why open source?

! Security through obscurity versus eyes rendering all bugs shallow

‣ Your custom software being hacked doesn’t make headlines  
(or if it does, the vendor isn’t in the story) ‣ Vulnerabilities are discovered, discussed, and patched in the open, with the fix being seen as a feature, not a potential lawsuit ‣ More rapid release cycles means more patches You hear a lot about open source vulnerabilities

! The best developers in the world versus Just the
ones on your payroll

! Built for your (current) purpose versus Built for different
purposes

! Proprietary standards versus Open standards

! Licensing versus Customization and support

! Why open source in government?

! Challenges not-unique to agencies

! No private-sector competition

! Day-to-day visibility into contractors’ efforts

! Attract technical talent

! Allow citizens to check your work

! Tax-payer funded code

! Don’t ask “what should be open source?”  Ask “what
needs to be closed source?

‣ The secret sauce — passwords, server configurations, launch codes,
your competitive advantage, etc — where it can’t be abstracted out ‣ Anything so specific to your use case that others wouldn’t benefit ‣ Projects you don’t have the resources (or desire) to maintain — open source is free as in puppies, not free as in beer

! All organizations go through three phases of open source

‣ Consume open source — Stand up a Drupal site,
Linux-based servers, rely on open source libraries ‣ Publish open source — Post a zip file to an FTP server   (or the modern equivalent) ‣ Participate in the open source community — engage developers, actively seek contributors, merge community contributions

! Open source as a platform versus Open source as
a workflow

! Case Studies From around the Government

! Who does the government collaborate with? Within an agency
Between agencies With the public

! Within an agency (or with external contractors)

Between agencies

With the Public

! What government collaborates on Open source Open data Open
government

Open source (code)

Open data

Open government (policy)

Information Sharing Environment Project Interoperability

! If you only remember two things

! 1. Open source ≠ Published source

! Open Source (software)  software that can be freely used,
modified, and shared (in both modified and unmodified form) by anyone

! Open Source  a philosophy of collaboration in which working
materials are made available online for anyone to fork, modify, discuss, and contribute to.

! 2. Optimize for developers

! You can have open source without executive oversight

! You can have open source without policy guidance

! You can’t have open source without developers

! You can’t have open source without code

! Best Practice #1: The technology is the easy part

! Open source as a vehicle for organizational change

! Best Practice #2: Start small, go through the motions

! Organizations have muscle memory

! Best Practice #3: Minimize information imbalance

! Work outside the firewall

! Best Practice #4: Minimize Friction

! Friction (n) The time it takes to go from
  “I want to contribute” to “I have contributed”

! Best Practice #5: Be the hub, encourage spokes

! You are the host of the internet’s most boring
cocktail party

! Closed source a few things Ben Balter @benbalter [email protected]
government.github.com

‣ PDP-1 — flickr.com/photos/hiddenloop/307119987/ ‣ Punch Card Decks — mehul
panchal, via Wikimedia Commons Photo credits

Closed source a few things

Closed source a few things

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