by Etienne Chauchot


I have been working in software engineering for more than 15 years. I've always contributed to Open Source software as a user or a developer. But I've been contributing to Apache Software Foundation (ASF) projects such as Apache Flink, Apache Beam or Apache Spark for nearly 6 years. It is long enough for me to say that I find the Apache Way is almost the best way to collaborate on software engineering.


I will not describe the Apache way here as there is a lot of good information about that already. I would rather link to the official Apache documentation. I humbly suggest that you read what it is if you don't know it already. 


My point here is to talk about the Apache Way in practice as I’ve experienced it. Of course, every Apache community is different, but what I wanted to emphasize is that applying the Apache Way by the book could lead to what I'd call a "perfect society" even if this word seems a bit naive and over optimistic, or even utopian.

A perfect society

Actually, working with the Apache way was a revelation to me!

ASF projects are governed by merit: what you do inside the community is noted, you get credit and it can lead to you obtaining more rights (direct access to the project repositories, election of committers etc.). Merit also drives decisions, discussing solutions and building consensus or voting for the best one helps lead to the best possible state of the project in the end. The best idea always wins in the long term.

The software is not driven by companies: no vendor concerns should take precedence over community. Consider how the ASF creates new top-level projects (TLP): a project starts in the Apache Incubator and is mentored by people who have already participated in successful Apache projects. When the mentors agree a project is ready, healthy and following The Apache Way, the ASF Board can approve its graduation from the Incubator to become a self-governing TLP. So the project is managed by the community itself and not by a single company and its private financial considerations. This helps drive the best decisions for the software itself and ensures long term maintenance of the software.

It is inclusive: the key aspect is that every voice matters, and that everyone is considered equal no matter their personal background, education, ethnicity or nationality, every contribution is good to take. Community members recognize that people skills may be different and complementary to theirs. So contributions might come from anyone, from anywhere and in any form (blog post, documentation, talk, code, website...)


ASF communities are welcoming: they are in constant search for new talents to join their forces. Being welcoming is very important to build and grow a community. The Open source community is also a great place for people to grow. The way people collaborate is generally by mentoring. Experienced contributors help newcomers or experts share their thoughts with others. It is really also a good way for mentors to share their passion and inspire mentees. Mentoring is in the DNA of the ASF starting with the Incubator when the podling community profits from the experience and advice of a mentor to grow in the Apache Way and become a top level project. 


Communities are self-organized: there is no manager but only technical leaders and mentors. Each community has a PMC that guides its governance, but its responsibilities don’t include assigning work and expecting it to be done. People are self-motivated and I must say that it is the best form of motivation ever! I’ve found the decision-making simple and efficient: there is no solely decision, feedback is always very important. People are willing to share their thoughts and solve problems together.


Community members have a collaborative mindset: they are positive, act constructively and their comments are in the best interest of the project and the community. They are  willing to share their thoughts, review PRs, share advice, accept change requests or bug tickets. People are willing to accept criticism without being defensive. The master word is transparency. 


Last but not least, I’ve seen most people behave gently: the fact that every communication is public guides people to communicate in a positive way. Indeed one of the ASF guiding concepts is "what did not happen publicly didn’t happen" – often said as “what didn’t happen on the mailing list, didn’t happen” but of course this concept can be generalized to any communication tool we use. Examples of good communication I’ve seen in open source communities are: asking questions or suggesting rather than affirming or asking for thoughts rather than disagreeing bluntly. An open source contributor should try to put theirself in the other person's shoes, trying to not hurt their feelings and to not demotivate them.


Considering all of this, what I can tell is that it is the way we all would like people and society in general to behave, no?

Daily life

The funny thing is that it goes even further, after some years of applying this philosophy (I was told lately that it felt almost like a religion) at work on a full time basis, I started applying it to daily life outside of work. It started to become my standard way of behaving in society: 

Meritocracy becomes second nature, for example I reward my home builders with gifts and public credit because they did a good job, I reward my kids for good school work etc... 


I also started to give time to others and share knowledge, mentoring becomes  second nature as well. 


      Another big thing which is very visible is that I now always take good care to give positive communication, leading to positive and constructive thinking. Positivism also becomes a key aspect of my daily life.


On a professional basis, an important thing is that merit never expires. So, if you gain committership on a project, or become a PMC member or even an ASF member, it is for life. So your skills are recognized by your peers for your whole career. This is an incredible credit and a tremendous trust mark!

Can be a bit challenging

In order to avoid being seen as a total idealist, I need to temper a bit:

I remember when I first joined an open source community, I felt intimidated. Community members are generally very senior level and very highly skilled developers. But, remember what is written above: every contribution is good to take. And, with time and mentoring, anyone can earn a place inside the community.

The other thing I felt a bit difficult when I joined is to find where to start: some projects are old enough to have a large community so the amount of code is pretty high. But here again mentoring comes into play: mentors can give you pointers on hot topics, starter tickets or simply areas that need maintenance. And with time, you might be recognized as an expert in a given area and the exciting subjects will come to you. 

And if you feel like you want to join a smaller community try joining a project which is still in the incubation phase!

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed these insights and I hope it gave you the motivation to join an open source community.

Etienne Chauchot has been working in software engineering for more than 15 years and is now specialized in Big Data. He is an Open Source fan, and contributes to Apache projects such as Apache Beam, Apache Flink or Apache Spark. He is also the author of the "Big data Chronicles" blog. He is an Apache Beam committer and PMC member and also an Apache Foundation member.

= = =

"Success at Apache" is a blog series that focuses on the processes behind why the ASF "just works".