Author: Ben Cotton

Ben formerly led open source messaging at Docker and was the Fedora Program Manager. He is the author of Program Management for Open Source Projects. Ben is an Open Organization Ambassador and frequent conference speaker. His personal website is Funnel Fiasco.

Just because you write it, that doesn’t mean they’ll read it

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. What happens if you write all of those wonderful words and they don’t get read?

Posts

Are bug reporters contributors?

Whether they’re made by a contributor or not, bug reports are valuable contributions to your project. Treat them that way.

Posts

Use your tools, but write like you

We live in a time when we’re awash in tools (often free) that aid writing. You miss out when you don’t take advantage of these tools.

Posts

Keeping your bug tracker simple

Don’t try to make the perfect system from the beginning. Start with the basics. Solve problems after they become problems.

Posts

To grow an open source project, give up control

If the project structure shares leadership outside the company, it becomes more appealing to people outside the company.

Posts

Do release-blocking bugs have to be new?

If a bug existed in previous releases, should it block the upcoming release? There’s a case for “yes” and a case for “no”.

Posts

The solution isn’t interesting, the problem is

Nobody wants to use a computer. They want to get something done. Focusing on the problem instead of the solution gets you better results.

Posts

Little ways program managers add value

Some contributions aren’t a make-or-break moment, they’re a way to reduce the friction for contributors and make processes run smoother.

Posts

Embrace the non-judgmental “why?”

People don’t make bad decisions on purpose. If you understand why a decision was made in the past, you make better decisions for the future.

Posts

Footnotes and asides are a warning

Overuse of footnotes, commas, em dashes, and parentheses suggest your writing may be unclear. Keeping sentences focused helps your reader.

Posts