Does my project have what it needs to develop?
Like the sun, water, and nutrients to a plant, a new Open Source project needs the right committees, tools, and decisions to build a strong foundation that can support the growth and potential as it develops.
The early Incubation stage of a project requires the most attention and effort from its participants compared to other project life cycle stages since it is where the planning is put into action and challenges start to be identified. Such challenges must be addressed early to make any adjustments to the planning and reduce the risk of failure later in the maturity stages. Similarly, it is crucial to participate in the right committees and the support tools to help manage the project.
The recent article posted on the Linux Foundation’s blog talks more in-depth about the Life Cycle of an Open Source Project and offers advice to projects on the kind of support expected at every stage.
1. Project Managers and Legal committee
A project in the Incubation stage usually experiences the highest flow of contributions as its components develop throughout the bring-up stages. To prevent legal blockages, LFX EasyCLA offers an easy and guided tool for project managers and the legal committee to set up their contribution agreements for both companies and individuals and enforce them in their project’s Github/Gerrit/GitLab repos.
Project Managers can also benefit from LFX PCC where they can manage, and onboard their projects to all the Linux Foundation services offers for them. Managers can build their committees, membership, and legal details. They can also set up IT services, including source control, issue tracking, wiki, distribution, email lists, and meetings. Also, it offers a separate section to onboard projects into other LFX tools like Insights, Security, Mentorship, CLA, and Crowdfunding.
2. Contributors and Committers
From the early stages, contributors to a project can access the LFX Individual Dashboard where they can start tracking their contributions and sharing information about their experience in training, events, and work participation.
LFX Mentorship offers a platform where mentors can teach a new skill, and mentees can participate in a program of their choice to learn a new skill provided by the mentors. This tool allows participants to brush up on their skills and feel ready to start collaborating on a new open-source project.
3. Security committee
As a project in the incubation stage prepares for its first releases, it is essential to have a good assessment of its legal compliance and vulnerability risks early to ensure its first release happens without a glitch.
LFX Security is a tool that will report any license violations, potential risk vulnerabilities, leaked secrets, and non-inclusive language. It also offers suggested solutions and detailed information with the help of Snyk and Blubracket tools.
Where do I start?
- If you haven’t done so, you will need to register for a new LFID, as mentioned in Henry’s article.
Create your LFID for Life. - Later on, you can start exploring the mentioned LFX tools in this post but most importantly: Contribute with confidence!