Dmitry Vinnik Vinnik
Measuring Project Health in Open Source
#1about 5 minutes
Understanding the fundamentals of open source
Open source is defined by users and contributors who are motivated by community, leadership, productivity, and branding.
#2about 2 minutes
Moving beyond vanity metrics for project health
Instead of relying on simple numbers like stars or forks, project health should be evaluated through a conceptual framework.
#3about 2 minutes
Defining long-term goals for your project
Establish clear long-term goals such as recruiting, contributions, branding, or adoption before launching an open source project.
#4about 2 minutes
Creating a memorable and professional brand
A strong brand, built through thoughtful naming, a logo, and a clear narrative, demonstrates commitment to the project.
#5about 2 minutes
Why great documentation is a cornerstone
High-quality, searchable, and welcoming documentation is often the deciding factor in a project's success and contributor onboarding.
#6about 2 minutes
Structuring your codebase for collaboration
Implement a code of conduct, a detailed contributors guide, and issue templates to create a clear and safe environment for collaboration.
#7about 2 minutes
Fostering an active and supportive community
Build a thriving community by creating team-driven content, providing a dedicated space for interaction, and encouraging user-generated tutorials.
#8about 2 minutes
Actionable steps to improve project health
Improve your project's health by focusing on clear communication, understanding your community's needs, and consistently collecting relevant metrics.
#9about 4 minutes
Q&A: Identifying meaningful community metrics
Go beyond simple view counts by using tools like Orbit to track first-time contributions and analyzing Q&A forums to measure engagement.
#10about 2 minutes
Q&A: Defining and tracking project success
Measure success by analyzing sentiment, comparing your project to alternatives, and most importantly, tracking your own growth quarter over quarter.
#11about 4 minutes
Q&A: Evaluating programming language popularity
Assess a programming language's community size and health by reviewing annual reports, tracking trends, and considering the job market.
#12about 4 minutes
Q&A: Finding resources and managing imposter syndrome
Utilize resources like the GitHub Open Source Guide and recognize that imposter syndrome is a common feeling in the ever-changing tech landscape.
Related jobs
Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.
Matching moments
09:33 MIN
How companies can ethically promote open source development
Open Source: The Engine of Innovation in the Digital Age
11:27 MIN
Using tools like the Andon Cord and health checks
Fast Flow, Not Fast Fluff: Embracing an Eclectic DevOps Coaching Approach
03:02 MIN
Organizing meetups and measuring community impact
Community Interview: angular.love
10:35 MIN
Curating a successful community-driven open source project
Coffee with Developers - Robby Russell
06:46 MIN
Report issues to help improve open source projects
What I learned as a developer from accidents in space
16:09 MIN
Why open source is the new standard for development
Harnessing the Power of Open Source's Newest Technologies
19:01 MIN
Using open source to find and vet talent
Developer Advocacy in accelerated times
23:03 MIN
Fostering open source contributions and community development
Building a Privacy-First Social Platform at Mastodon - Andy Piper
Featured Partners
Related Videos
42:54300 days straight of helping on stackoverflow
Konstantin BIFERT
24:14Collaboration Quantified: Lessons from Open Source Developer Networks
Dmitry Yanter
51:10Web development best practices in 2021
Laurie Voss
31:12But, you're not Facebook
Kristijan Ristovski
27:21The Future of Open Source
Scott Chacon
17:56Metrics Handle with Care: The Paradox of Measuring Team Performance
Stefan Stelzer & Volker Zöpfel
27:27Things I learned while writing high-performance JavaScript applications
Michele Riva
59:18Can you build a career in open source?
Stormy Peters
Related Articles
View all articles
From learning to earning
Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.
![Senior Software Engineer [TypeScript] (Prisma Postgres)](https://wearedevelopers.imgix.net/company/283ba9dbbab3649de02b9b49e6284fd9/cover/oKWz2s90Z218LE8pFthP.png?w=400&ar=3.55&fit=crop&crop=entropy&auto=compress,format)
Senior Software Engineer [TypeScript] (Prisma Postgres)
Prisma
Remote
Senior
Node.js
TypeScript
PostgreSQL
Lead Fullstack Engineer AI
Hubert Burda Media
München, Germany
€80-95K
Intermediate
React
Python
Vue.js
Langchain
+1
Lead Full-Stack Engineer
Hubert Burda Media
München, Germany
€80-95K
Intermediate
Senior
React
Vue.js
Node.js
MongoDB
+1
Frontend Engineer - React (f/m/x) Germany-based
Douglas GmbH
Düsseldorf, Germany
Intermediate
Senior
React
TypeScript
Principal Backend Engineer (Node.js)
Almedia
Berlin, Germany
€80-110K
Senior
NestJS
Node.js
Express
TypeScript
+1
Tech Lead (m/f/d) - Berlin
Patronus Group
Berlin, Germany
Senior
Kotlin
Spring Boot
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Software Engineer
tree-IT GmbH
Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Germany
€54-80K
Intermediate
Senior
Java
TypeScript
Spring Boot
Senior Machine Learning Engineer (f/m/d)
MARKT-PILOT GmbH
Stuttgart, Germany
Remote
€75-90K
Senior
Python
Docker
Machine Learning