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Program management for open source projects

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2025-06-04

The right tool is the one people can use

If a tool is a means to an end (and it is!), then the right tool is the one that gets the job done. Even if it wasn’t intended for that purpose.

Categories Posts
2025-05-28

It’s okay to be partial to your work

It’s okay to be partial to — and promote — your own work, so long as you follow the community’s process.

Categories Posts
2025-05-21

Growing your project means doing less coding

You can’t hide from the reality of a growth in non-coding tasks. If you want to keep writing code, recruit others to take on the rest.

Categories Posts
2025-05-14

Adding pre-report bug discussion

The Ghostty project requires bug reports to start as discussion threads. If they’re actionable, a maintainer converts the thread to an issue.

Categories Posts
2025-05-07

Use reserved domains and IPs in examples

Domains and IP blocks specifically reserved for documentation purposes are far better than the placeholders you’re probably using.

Categories Posts
2025-03-19

Facilitating decisions is more important than making them

You cannot decide on behalf of the community. Facilitating decisions is how you build a community that wants to stick around.

Categories Posts
2025-03-12

Helping your project survive the loss of core contributors

Only 27% of projects that lose their core developers survive, but you can take steps to give your project its best chance.

Categories Posts
2025-03-05

Rules and policies are necessary to define good behavior

Think of it this way: having rules and policies for behavior in your community is like documenting the community’s API.

Categories Posts
2025-02-26

Every project is a software project

It’s a good reminder that our audience is broader than we might think and we should act accordingly.

Categories Posts
2025-02-19

Improvement requires context

If you swoop in uninformed, you might make some correct decisions, but you’ll probably make more wrong ones.

Categories Posts

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About This Site

Learn how to get your ducks in a row, your cats herded, or any other animal metaphor you can think of.

2025 trends

Hand-drawn graphs on a sheet of white paper sitting on a desk.
Read my 2025 open source trends predictions.

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Cover of the book Program Management for Open Source Projects

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Upcoming talks

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Latest posts

  • The right tool is the one people can use2025-06-04
  • It’s okay to be partial to your work2025-05-28
  • Growing your project means doing less coding2025-05-21
  • Adding pre-report bug discussion2025-05-14

Except where noted, all content © Ben Cotton and provided under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license except where noted. Logo design by alexlexi.

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