The CHAOSS project is gearing up for a transformative year in 2024, building on the momentum of a successful 2023. In a recent discussion, we shared insights into the project’s goals, which focus on significant growth, community engagement, and the establishment of international standards. Let’s delve into the exciting objectives that will shape the future of CHAOSS in the coming year.
Establishing CHAOSS Metrics as International Standards:
Imagine CHAOSS metrics and metrics models receiving a nod as formal international standards, specifically candidates for ISO standards. We’re collaborating with the Joint Development Foundation, part of the Linux Foundation, to create standards that will facilitate global engagement with these metrics and metrics models. This move lends more legitimacy to our hard work and opens doors for wider recognition and adoption, making it easier for management and C-level executives to embrace these metrics and metrics models. The journey involves thoughtful consideration of which metrics and metrics models are suitable candidates, navigating the standardization process, and even contemplating compliance programs. As we venture into this uncharted territory, we’re ready for the exciting challenges and opportunities.
Crafting Outreach Plans for Community Growth:
Building and sustaining the CHAOSS user community has always been a priority. In 2024, we’re taking a more deliberate approach to growing this community. We could do many things; it will be key to prioritize activities that will genuinely make a difference in raising awareness and engaging users as we craft a strategic advocacy plan. From refining user-specific key messages to exploring the possibility of an Ambassador’s program, our goal is to make every member of the CHAOSS community feel welcomed and included. We’re also gearing up to share our insights with other open source communities, envisioning a toolkit that aids others in navigating the challenges of community outreach and promotion. And we’ll continue to explore downstream use and engagement with the artifacts our community creates, as in the case of Augur and GrimoireLab.
Fostering Collaboration Within the Contributor Community:
Contributors are the heart and soul of CHAOSS, contributing in diverse ways, from coding to blogging to organizing meetups. To foster collaboration, we continue to find ways to make it easier for everyone to contribute, appreciating all forms of participation. The ‘Chaotic of the Week’ program continues to shine a spotlight on community members, and you’ll see us at even more events, engaging both users and contributors. We’re thankful to our community for their blogging efforts—one shining example are the blogs penned by Gary White, principal engineer in Verizon’s Open Source Program Office, about the company’s use of CHAOSS metrics. Collaboration with other communities is a key aspect, including the TODO Group, Linux Foundation, and universities, and we’ll focus on making these partnerships more visible and explicit. We’ll also revisit our approach to mentorship, thinking strategically and innovatively about the programs we engage in.
Offering SaaS Solutions for CHAOSS Metrics:
We’ll aim to make CHAOSS metrics more accessible and user-friendly, while reducing resource constraints, and as a result, bringing these metrics to a wider audience, by providing hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings. Hosted solutions can help simplify software installation, a hurdle identified in an earlier survey, and give people a taste of different CHAOSS software pieces, so they can decide which fits their needs. These solutions aim to cater to a broader audience, accommodating various project needs, from large corporate open source offices and smaller, scientific organizations. Today, Augur has a hosted instance, and the plan is to convert Augur data into metric model data and implement standards for these models. In addition, we’re looking at securing funding to host the OSS Compass project, CHAOSS-affiliated software that provides a user-friendly interface for metrics.
Data-Driven Insights for Informed Communities:
Historically, the CHAOSS project has taken an agnostic approach to metrics interpretation, providing a wealth of metrics and tools and leaving individual projects to determine how to use and interpret these metrics based on their unique community dynamics. Recognizing the complexity and abundance of metrics, the goal now is to help users, primarily those new to metrics, derive meaningful observations for their communities. Collaborating with context working groups and creating insight guides, we’re bridging the gap for users looking to enhance their communities through informed metric analysis. We’re starting to work on these guide, and we encourage you to get involved and contribute to them. Additionally, we’re focused on building use cases, and community examples will be vital in helping users better interpret data and implement insights effectively.
Adapting to New Technologies:
While we’re not fully prepared to tackle this goal, we’re keeping a watchful eye on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Our earlier exploration into AI’s impact on open source communities is just the beginning. New technologies beyond AI will continue to emerge, and as they do, we’ll be ready to adapt our metrics policies and practices accordingly.
With these goals set for 2024, we’re excited about the growth we’ve witnessed and the intentional approach we’re taking as we look forward. We invite you to be a part of this exciting adventure, contributing your unique perspective and energy to enrich our shared experience. Join us in shaping the future, addressing challenges, and celebrating successes together. The CHAOSS community is a vibrant space; together, let’s continue building something amazing!
