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Program management for open source projects

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2021-09-16

Hold on loosely: project management in open source (POSI)

I joined Jim Hall, Jen Krieger, and Jamie Rachel for a panel moderated by Sam Kimbrel at the inaugural Practical Open Source Information (POSI) conference. We discussed the challenges that open source communities present and how they can benefit from project management. Abstract: Whether you’re an experienced project manager or new to the field, project management in open source projects...

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2021-08-05

Exploring our bugs (Nest With Fedora)

At Nest With Fedora, I shared a preliminary exploration of historical Fedora Linux bug reports. This was a building block for the “Your Bug Tracker and You” talk, as well as the bug management chapter of Program Management for Open Source Projects. Slides Date: 5 August 2021 Location: virtual This post’s featured image is by Neringa Hünnefeld on Unsplash

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2020-11-07

Scheduling your open source project (SeaGL)

At SeaGL 2020, I shared a variety of ways to schedule an open source project release — and how to keep the schedule accurate as you go. Talk was essentially a trial run of the scheduling chapter in Program Management for Open Source Projects. Date: 7 November 2020 Location: virtual This post’s featured image by J Taubitz on Unsplash

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2020-09-25

Herding cats: program management in communities (DevConf.US)

This is an updated and extended version of my DevConf.CZ 2019 talk presented at DevConf.US 2020. Date: 25 September 2020 Location: virtual Abstract: Large open source projects are complex. Whether you have someone formally filling the role or not, your project is performing program management tasks. This talk covers some of the key work that program managers perform in community...

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2019-08-08

Changing the Changes Process (Flock to Fedora)

Shortly after I delivered this Flock to Fedora talk, we abandoned the planned improvements. The Taiga interface proved to be a little too user-hostile. Specifically, the requirement that each field be saved separately would almost certainly result in a lot of lost data. So we’re (as of the end of 2021) still using the old system. But I’m still thinking...

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2019-01-27

Herding cats: project management in communities (DevConf.CZ)

I was not prepared to have a packed room for this DevConf.CZ talk. I also thought the content seemed obvious. But the audience loved it. It’s a good reminder that what seems obvious when you do the job everyday is not obvious when you don’t. Had I been more clairvoyant, I’d have titled it “Aligning ducks”. Date: 27 January 2019...

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2019-01-26

Managing changes in open source projects (DevConf.CZ)

In my first DevConf.CZ talk, I describe the general concepts that go into planning features in an open source project. The second half of the talk explains how Fedora applies those concepts, and how that process has evolved over time. This talk is the basis for the “Manage Features” chapter in Program Management for Open Source Projects. Date: 26 January...

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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.

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

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Latest posts

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  • Adding pre-report bug discussion2025-05-14

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