Enterprises Contribute to Open Source Projects

If 2008 had a buzzword, it was probably "community." More and more companies are looking to tap into communities for contributions to open source projects. But following the open-source trend just because everyone is doing it isn't good enough. To succeed, you need a well-thought-out community plan that details exactly what your organization needs and wants from its community, and how it can achieve those goals. And you need to do so without raising the ire of the free and open-source software (FOSS) community.

The point of insisting on FOSS project metrics isn't to discourage enterprise open-source involvement -- quite the opposite. Organizations can plan for success early on by planning to measure contributions up front. This means setting goals from the start, and then designing a roadmap to get you there. Too many organizations begin with poorly-defined or vague goals (such as "build community"), and wind up disappointed with the results. Then they blame the open-source model. In reality, that's a failure of leadership and clear direction-setting.

What to Expect

Companies looking to invest in community contributions should be aware that it takes time to reap returns on the investment. Throwing code over the wall isn't sufficient to get contributions. Developers need to interact with the community to help support their efforts. It usually takes time for outside contributors to learn their way around a project and to become productive.

If the goal is to "outsource" the majority of development to the open source community, forget it. While a healthy community can provide valuable contributions to company-sponsored open source projects, it is not a substitute for an engineering staff. Contributors also expect some voice in the direction of the project itself, and reasonable governance of the project.

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