The Quiet Work of Forever: Sustaining Open Source Communities - O. Hope Amaechi-Okorie, JSON Schema

This talk discusses the quiet work involved in sustaining open source communities, focusing on the challenges and strategies for achieving sustainability. The speaker highlights that open source projects often face issues like maintenance burnout and limited community engagement, which can lead to diminished momentum and eventual project failure. They also emphasize the importance of governance structures, long-term planning, and fostering inclusivity to ensure ongoing participation and contributor growth. The speaker uses examples from the JSON Schema community, showcasing how intentional governance and clear contributor pathways can support sustainability in open source initiatives.

Hello everyone. My name is Onyeka Hope, I'm a core contributor and I'm a technical committee advocate contributing to JSON schema and today I'll be talking about the quiet work of forever sustaining open source communities. Basically talking about open source sustainability and I want to use use this opportunity to thank KubeCon plus Cloud Native conference for this opportunity to share insights. So, let's get started. A little bit

me, I am also a colleague to Mesh Forward and I'm going to explain that in the later slides. I also lead the structuring and the speech diversity initiative as as part of Mesh Forward and I am an older fellow and I contribute to AI ethics and governance conversations and I also founded a special most speech which is a community for people with atypical speech patterns like me

for us to share the misconceptions, the paths and how to make speech diversity mainstream. So, for Mesh Forward, Mesh Forward is a CNCF initiative focused on building capacity by empowering underrepresented groups to strengthen the sustainability of open source. And within this group we have like six subgroups. No, sorry. Seven subgroups. We have the deep roots, the structuring and the speech diversity which I lead, the friends of

Dorothy, so as you can see on the screen those are the groups we have and we also aim to add add more groups so to have a more robust underrepresented group representation. And today I am will be discussing sustainability in three parts. We will talk about why sustainable why sustainable communities matter, what sustainable communities look like, and designing communities that last. So to start off right, open

source does not fail. It's slow. It fails slowly. So open source sustainability is a gradual process some of the things that we have seen that makes it to fail slowly is when maintenance become very busy with other commitments or or when contributors move to new projects or when funding programs eventually conclude. So as a result of this right, the momentum diminishes over time. And then this is

something that we have seen recurring in most of the open source projects, right? And why does it matter, right? What is the importance of open source sustainability? So open source empowers much of today's technology, but many projects lose momentum once early funding programs or community energy fade. Without long-term structure and shared ownership, even strong projects can stall or end disappear. So open source really ensures this ensures

remain active, trusted, and relevant over time, right? So it helps build resilience, communities, supports ongoing innovation, and turns short-term efforts into long-lasting impact. But when all of these are not in place, right? So that is when we see this and and within an open source project. And this as home sustainability stress point, we have a whole lot, but for this um discussion, we will just touch on

four points. And these are actually some of the um common stress points that I believe most of us could um relate to. We have the lack of governance, short-term initiative, maintenance burnout, very, very important, and limited community engagement. So, for um lack of um um governance, right? Um without clear um governance, projects struggle with um the decision-making and can face stagnation or fragmentation. So, lack of governance

is it's it's a very important topic because um let's say um an open source project um does not have a clear pathway on on how um decisions are made, on how things should be done, right? It's it's it feels as if the it may feel as if the um project is not transparent because um because um contributors or um community members might not even know when when

um when decisions are made, right? It is not transparent and and and and and most times due to that, let's say there is there is a um particular feature within the community or within the project that then should be done, right? It will stall for a long time because because there is actually no a clear pathway, there is no a clear pipeline of how it should it

then should be done. And that is also an important stress point for open source sustainability. Then for short-term initiatives, right? We love We love um initiatives like Google Summer of Code or fellowships, right? I mean, right? projects. But, um most times these these these initiatives create a spike in community momentum just for a short period of time, right? And if there is no way to actually guide

that that that community momentum into long-lasting impacts, right? It's It's also diminished over time because after these um programs, there is nothing else for the contributors to do or even the contributors that do not even stay. So, what are they supposed to do within your community? So, having these things in place is very very important for sustainability within a project. Then, for maintainers burnout, right? Many open-source

projects depend on a small number of individuals whose exhaustion or departure can put the entire project at risk. if your project, right? You notice that when person A, B leaves, everything stops. So, that is going to be an issue because an open-source project should be able to be sustainable, right? So, it's it's it's it's it's going to show that these these these maintainers are doing a whole

lot of things that can also cause burnout to them. So, imagine having a maintainer that that that that comments on issues that that tries or so that made like that that does every single thing, right? With time, it's going to be a whole lot of um commitment. But, imagine having a process where where there are like different phases of community contributions. Right, because the gap from a

first-time contributor to a maintainer is very, very high. So, having things in in place, like for example, the um triagers that can just be We are checking out issues and they're and they're also verifying that it's it works fine, right? Before it is being pushed to the maintainer. So, the maintainer's role will mainly be to just have a final look and and and merge. So, finding ways

to decentralize ownership is very, very important to help with maintainers burnout. And from the three points above, right? This all leads to a limited community engagement. Because if there is no clear clear pathway for for contributors to contribute into the projects, right? There is definitely going to be a limited community because community member might not even know what what to do next or how to improve in

their contributions, right? There is no there is no clear pipeline for them. So, communities. So, what are the ways you can design for sustainability, right? There are some key strategies for community resilience. We have the intentional planning, the inclusive governance, the trust and empowerment. Now, these topics are these topics are very very important because having this in place really goes a long way in improving the community

resilience. So, for for intentional planning, right? Careful planning establishes a robust framework promoting long-term engagement and ensuring resources are effectively utilized to meet community needs, right? This all goes back to what I previously said about about um initiatives where after that, what's next? If there is no plan to engage these these contributors after program phase, right? It is going to stall sustainability. So, having things in this

planning planning critically strategizing on how to convert those those new people joining the project even after the program finishes it's it's a very important step to design for sustainability. Then, there's inclusive governance. Inclusive decision-making process empower all community members fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging diverse contribution that enrich the project. Then, for trust and empowerment, building trust within the community cultivates an environment where individuals feel

confident to share ideas, take on leadership roles, and actively participate, right? So, by the time you create clear contributor guideline and and and then we have this contributor covenant that can help you to streamline your process, right? It helps you to also involve volunteers different regions in to share progress transparently. we also have knowledge transfer and contributor growth. So, it is not only um for the existing

team to know what is happening between the projects, right? There should be a way for that knowledge to be transferred to the next group of contributors. So, having a clear documentation, having a clear storytelling is also important in this step. So, knowledge transfer ensures that valuable information and expertise are shared among community members, preventing knowledge loss when contributors leave or retire. Therefore, contributor growth fostering contributor growth

involves creating an environment that encourage skill development, mentorship, and active participation, ensuring and ensuring a sustainable contributor base, And And this is very very important because sup- supporting knowledge transfer by guiding new contributors through issue and triaging and then peer review the base because this is so so important because let's say the the the um contributors that are handling that this year will be um this year

will be retiring next year. there should be a way to also guide the new contributors, right? To be able to take up these roles. And And helping them build skills and gradually take more responsibility, ensuring a sustainable contributor base. So, we will then move into the healing workforce of open source. So, most times, right, Most um people feel that um open source is is all about like

the the um maintainers or or the core contributors. There are different layers to be it, and I call them the people who quietly keeps the project alive. So, so we have the um the um reviewers and then triagers, the community organizer because it is not only by contributing code you can contribute to open source. You can earn you can earn contribute to to to invent, to um

community experience strategies, to a whole lot of things, right? And these are the These are the people who quietly keeps the projects alive because we want to have these um constant these um constant um contribution and like discussion within the community. So, for this session, we're going to use a case study for the JSON schema. And JSON schema has built a strong inclusive governance model that fosters

trust, accountability, and long-term contributor engagement. The um governance is um organized into clear participation rules, which which I can contributor pathway, right? Designed to support growth while staying flexible as community evolves. So, for um JSON schema, there uh there are like three um stages to it, right? There is the technical steering committee, the maintainers, the triaged members, and the documentation members, right? Now, these these these these

four rules, they have the things that they do, right? For for the um TSC team, right? They they they handle everything that that has to do with um strategic direction, technical oversight, and long-term vision. While while for the maintainers, right? They They own key key um repositories review and merge changes and guide technical discussions. And for the trust members, they manage issues, label, community support to keep

the project going. And in documentation members, it is also a way to contribute without writing actual code, right? Um improve um clarity, accessibility, and contributor onboarding because a good documentation goes a long way in contributors on onboarding. And this structure is intentionally simplified to match the current community needs and is continuously evolving as this schema grows. This is something that that most most contributor most open source

projects fail to um understand, right? You don't need to over engineer your process, especially when it is still small, right? Even if not small, but like especially when it it it is a phase that over over engineering may now look like a huge assignment, right? You should be able to simplify your process and build on it. So, just um understanding what what your community needs at at

a particular point in time is very very important. And also, we have the merge forward. It can be used another case um study. So, for for um open source um um communities, right? It is also important to also connect to the humans behind every um project we behind every um community. And that is something that Merge Forward is um trying to um achieve. So, Merge Forward is

part of um CNCF. It's a CNCF community initiative focused on building of open source, right? And um this is um like I said, right? It is um very very important because it really con- connect around the open source community, right? And for now, we have like seven groups and still um evolving. So, if you are um watching this um this um video and um and you feel

that um there is a group that should be added to this initiatives, right? Um you can um um you can reach out to the Merge Forward channel on the CNCF Slack, right? So, for now, we have these seven groups and the goal is is just to um bring in more underrepresented group sustainability of of open source. And how do we transition from programs to ongoing engagements, right?

So, these are basically next steps. Understanding community activity patterns very very important, right? Understanding the community trends help turn short-term energy into long-term momentum. What does this even mean, right? Open source communities often um move in um cycles. Period of high high um activity followed by quiet phases. Recognizing this pattern early allows communities to respond intentionally instead of reacting too late. Now, how does this manifest, right?

In um in your um community, I um believe community momentum gives um this um very high um community momentum does not happen every single time in your um in your um community. So, knowing um when you when you um understand when um contributors join, return, or um slow down, you can design activities that maintain steady momentum instead of temporary burst of growth. So, understanding this is very

very important because it's guides participation. It's guides what um should be done at that particular point in time within the um community because sustainable communities pay attention to participation trends and use them to guide engagement. And the next one here is onboarding contribution. For For everything I have been saying, right? This is the most important or I would say one of the most important points because having

a clear onboarding contribution is very very important. It's It's It's answers 90% of the questions that that um that will guide active participation within an open source community, right? Because effective onboarding processes create a welcoming atmosphere and encouraging new contributors to engage and remain active in the community by creating a clear pathway. Right? So, for for for example, a very project with excellent onboarding pipeline is Meshery.

meshery.io. Right? And And you have with Meshery, there are there are there are people that will actually guide contributors by hand to do Okay, you uh you can do A, you can do B. Like they actually guide you like um um there are phase. I think they are called them um um boarding guides, something similar to to that, right? Just try not over engineer. Simplify it and

guide contributors on what they should do and how and they should do it and how they can also grow within the community. Because a good onboarding pipeline should answer this question in clear terms. This is what I'm talking about. You don't need to over engineer, so it doesn't seem like an assignment that is difficult, right? You should be able to answer I want to contribute. How do

I start? I want to contribute. How do I grow? I want to contribute. How do I lead within the project? Once your answers this question, right? Have a clear response to this. Like you are you are on the way of of a resilient situation or a sustainable community because you actually answered the core questions in open source sustainability. Then, for resilience community, using resilience communities means designing

for contin- continuity, very important. Where health practices, shared ownerships, and long-term thinking allows projects to grow and endure. Resilience communities are not built around a single maintainer or short-term programs, but around structures that support steady participation over time. Now, a simple um um litmus test of um resilience is is this. So, uh when you think with your your um community, just check out for this. The community

Does the community continue to move forward even when key individuals step away? Once you have your answer to this, if it's if it is a um it's a positive response, you know that you are already doing something good. If it is a maybe, then you should be able to to create structures that would make it to be a positive response. Because this is a very, very clear

litmus test to if uh you have a resilience communities. Because resilience community requires intentional intentional design that supports community health and and sustainable practices, ensuring that knowledge and responsibilities are shared across contributors. When communities are built this way, they continue to thrive even as people and priorities change. So, what is it? What are the key takeaways from this session for designing communities for long-term success? Number one

is to the main thing is to focus on continuity. And to um um this is by creating um thriving open source communities, prioritizing design that fosters continuity through through shared ownership, strong governance, and active contributor pathway. So, these are some points that we need to use to design communities for long-term success. A good governance. Trust. The community members, the contributors should be able to trust your your

process. So, because and and trust mostly comes from transparency. Right? And the next one here is inclusion, and growth. With these with these key takeaways, right? If you have these key points in in in place and using it to guide your engagement, I truly believe that you will be creating a sustainable open source community. And we've come to the end of this session. Thank you so much

for listening. Please, you can connect with me on LinkedIn. And you can also share feedback on this session. I would really love any feedback that will make me to improve in my next um sessions. All right. Thank you so much. Bye.