Designed for Longevity: Why Mature Open Source Projects Need a Culture of Mentorship

How do established open-source projects like WordPress continue to thrive in a rapidly changing tech landscape? Leveraging insights from 20 years in the WordPress community, the speaker will delve into the transformative power of mentorship programs. The presentation will illuminate how the contributor ecosystem benefits substantially when experienced contributors advance into mentorship roles, guided by a well-defined contributor ladder. Backed by real-world evidence and community feedback from the "Five for the Future" pledge program and the pilot run of the Contributor Mentorship Program, the talk will provide a blueprint for cultivating a robust mentorship culture. Aimed at active contributors, community leaders, and businesses involved in open-source, they will walk away with practical steps for ensuring project longevity and vibrant community growth.

Open Source Summit Japan 2023, Tokyo
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KRiZR6Q7GE

Transcript

1. Designed for Longevity Why Mature Open Source Projects Need a Culture of Mentorship Naoko Takano Open Source Project Manager
2. 2 Full-time WordPress project contributor sponsored by Automattic (WordPress.com) Works on the Five for the Future* program to encourage contribution from user companies (hosting, agencies, product producers, etc.) * https://wordpress.org/5 Naoko Takano Open Source Project Manager, Automattic
3. 3 OSPO at Automattic 5% are full-time OSS contributors (100/2000 employees)
4. Challenges in Scaling a 20-Year-Old Community 4
5. 5 WordPress Contributor Community 22 teams with tens of thousands of contributors Over 50 countries Diverse profiles of people
6. 6 Core Contributors 500-800 contributors each release 30 core committers Contributors from hundreds of companies
7. 7 Core Release Stats Over 30% are first-time contributors. But the overall contributor count is not steadily increasing. https://jeanbaptisteaudras.com/2023/08/contribution-stats-for-wordpress-6-3-lionel/
8. 8 New/Current Translation Editors General translation editor (maintainer) role tend to stay with the same people over a long period of time. Only 2.5% of the contributors were prompted to this role in the past year, of total 744 contributors.
9. 9 Bus Factor The minimum number of team members that have to suddenly disappear from a project before the project stalls due to lack of knowledgeable or competent personnel.
10. “ [...] a good rule of thumb that will scale with the community as it continues to grow is that organizations that want to grow the WordPress pie (and not just their piece of it) should dedicate 5% of their people [...] — Matt Mullenweg, Co-founder of WordPress https://ma.tt/2014/09/five-for-the-future/
11. 11 Five for the Future In 2019, the Community Team & Meta Team worked together to launch a program to encourage organizations to pledge contribution for WordPress development.
12. 12 https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future /pledge/bluehost Company Profile
13. 13 https://profiles.wordpress.org/nao/ Contributor Profile
14. 14 Currently, 15% of the companies are making high impact while 60% has became inactive. Company Pledge Effectiveness
15. Challenges Goals Gaps 15 • New and mid-experience contributors struggle to level up in the contributor ladder • Experienced contributors burn out with increased responsibilities • Structured contributor learning pathways • Mentorship infrastructure • Resource allocation • Sustainable growth strategies • Mentorship as a high-priority focus • Repeatable framework for nurturing impactful contributors
16. “ How can we maintain our project and bring in new people consistently? (and) make sure that WordPress just outlast any of us? — Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of WordPress WordCamp US 2023 Keynote
17. Slowly but repeatedly bring up the topic in the community to develop the mind shift
18. Building a Mentorship Culture 18
19. “ 19 Mentorship creates opportunities for a healthy succession of open source project contributions and leadership. — LFX Mentorship in Open Source Report https://www.linuxfoundation.org/research/mentorship-in-open-source
20. 20 Virtuous Cycle Vicious Cycle Overcommitment Burnout Disengagement Turnover Balanced Commitment with Mentorship Effort Sustained Engagement Expansion Growth
21. 21 Community Team Event Mentors Core Release Squad Mentorship Contributor Mentorship Program Training Team Guide Program
22. 22 Community Team Event Mentors Core Release Squad Mentorship Contributor Mentorship Program Training Team Guide Program
23. • 4 weeks, 13 pairs • Matched based on needs & experience • Activities ◦ Self-directed courses ◦ Mentee check-ins ◦ Onboarding workshop ◦ Team contribution ◦ Release cycle shadowing 23 Contributor Mentorship Program Pilot Cohort 2023 Q3, around WordPress 6.3 release
24. 24 Contributor Mentorship Program https://make.wordpress.org/community/?p=40530
25. Findings from the Contributor Mentorship Program Pilot From Program Builder’s Perspective 25
26. 1. Program Creation Takes Resource 2. Availability is Crucial 3. Clarity Helps Mentors & Mentees 4. Awareness Encourages Mentorship 26
27. 27 Even the importance of mentorship is shared in the community, it takes focused work to build a program. Prioritization is necessary to make it happen. Program Creation Takes Resources
28. Consistent and mutually agreed upon availability from both mentors and mentees is essential for the success and continuity of the mentorship relationship. 28 Availability is Crucial
29. Clear communication and well-defined expectations are essential for the optimal use of the valuable and limited resources of mentors and mentees. 29 Clarity Helps Mentors and Mentees
30. Raising awareness about the benefits and processes of mentorship develops a supportive culture. 30 Awareness Encourages Mentorship
31. Next Steps in the Mentorship Program 31
32. 32 Cohort #2 (Q1 2024) Clearer schedule More documentation & resources Replicable program for teams https://make.wordpress.org/community/?p=40530
33. You can start the culture too! Mentor someone, talk about mentorship, build up & keep going
34. Thank you. Let’s talk mentorship & sustainable contributor community! Web: naoko.cc Twitter/X: @naokomc Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/naoko
35. WordCampAsia wordcampasia @WordCampAsia https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/ Taipei, Taiwan March 7-9 https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/
36. 36 Credits Unsplash Photos: Marek Piwnicki / Kenny Eliason / Windows / Ali Abdul Rahman / Markus Spiske