Building Sustainable Open Source Communities: Ambassador and Contributor Programs

Open source technologies are becoming vital to many businesses, but what about the community around them? Building awareness, encouraging contributions, and increasing adoption can be challenging for any open source project. So how are some of the most popular communities achieving success?

In this talk, Kaitlyn will share best practices for building and engaging open source communities that have been learned through building the Cloud Native Ambassador and Kong Champions programs.

This talk will cover:
- Building a sustainable community around your open source project
- How to encourage and incentivize contributions
- When does an Ambassador program make sense?
- How to measure and communicate the business value of your program

Transcript

1. Building Sustainable Open Source Communities Ambassador and Contributor Programs Open Source Summit NA JUNE 2020
2. Introduction Kaitlyn Barnard ▪ Lead the Open Source Community at Kong ▪ Previously Developer & Community Marketing @ CNCF ▪ Kubernetes Contributor: SIG-Docs, Blog Subproject ▪ My favorite coworker: Bruce Wayne Twitter: @kaitlyn_barnard Email: kaitlyn.barnard@konghq.com 2 @kaitlyn_barnard
3. Examples Ambassador Programs The Cloud Native Ambassador program exists to empower community members with tools and resources needed to: 1. Promote cloud native projects and technology 2. Educate a local community on the CNCF mission 3. Contribute to CNCF projects Cloud Native Ambassadors Kong Champions are frequent contributors who play a key part in Kong’s community. You will often find them sharing their expertise and passion through: ▪ Forum discussion ▪ Blogging ▪ Speaking at local events ▪ Monthly Community Calls Kong Champions 3 @kaitlyn_barnard
4. ▪ Is there a clear path to contribution? ◦ Are there active contributors you can pull Ambassadors from? ▪ Do you have internal buy in to support the program? When Does an Ambassador Program Make Sense? @kaitlyn_barnard
5. 1. Building awareness for your technology 2. Educating the local and global community on your technology 3. Increasing contributions to your project 4. Creating opportunities for your Ambassadors to grow @kaitlyn_barnard Set Goals For Your Program
6. ▪ Contributor guides - Example ▪ Clear review process ▪ Contributor recognition ▪ Place to get help ▪ Partnering with relevant OS communities ▪ Overall project awareness ▪ Central resource location @kaitlyn_barnard Building a Contributor Pipeline
7. • Contributor Recognition ◦ Contributor Shirts ◦ Contributor Perks ◦ Contributor Spotlight • HacktoberFest • Clear path to taking on a larger role @kaitlyn_barnard How to Incentivize Contributions • Non-code contributors should feel like an equal part of your community. • Contributor Recognition ◦ Contributor Swag ◦ Contributor Perks ◦ Contributor Spotlight • Clear path to taking on a larger role Code Contributions Non-Code Contributions
8. • Reach out to the rockstars that already exist in your community • Don’t reinvent the wheel, focus on what works well for other community programs • Establish value for being part of the program • Promote your program and build a pipeline of contributors @kaitlyn_barnard Build Your Community
9. ▪ Program Overview - Example ▪ Requirements / Expectations ▪ Code of Conduct ▪ Resources / Training @kaitlyn_barnard Put Key Pieces in Place
10. ▪ Application Process ▪ Onboarding ▪ Monthly Ambassador Meetings ▪ Communication Channels ▪ “Special Perks” @kaitlyn_barnard Manage Your Community
11. @kaitlyn_barnard Measure Success Ambassador Programs Contributor Programs • Growth of Ambassador applications • Blog post views written by Ambassadors • Meetup attendance • Attendance/views of Ambassador presentations • Downloads from community efforts • Growth of number of active contributors • Issues/PRs (open, close, time to close) • Blog post views written by contributors • Attendance/views of contributor presentations
12. Questions @kaitlyn_barnard kaitlyn.barnard@konghq.com 12
13. Thank You 13 @kaitlyn_barnard