9th October, 2009, 10:00 - 16:00

OSS Watch Workshop:  Engaging Developers with Open Source Projects

Oxford University Computing Services, 13 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6NN. 

Link to event details on OSS Watch web site.  For any further queries, please contact info@oss-watch.ac.uk.  Also, if the event is sold out, please contact us if you would like to be placed in a stand-by queue for tickets

Why should software developers who create local customisations of open source software take the further step of submitting their changes back to the main project? Where do people who make contributions fit into an existing open source project, and why do projects want them?

While it takes more effort initially, having local changes integrated in a project becomes efficient in the long run: local modifications need not be re-applied at every upgrade, and the project takes over their maintenance. Also, by building up a record of useful contributions, one can gain influence in shaping the project's future. From the project's point of view, they not only gain by the improvements people submit, but become more sustainable by building up a larger group of people prepared to work on the project.

Not contributing back can cause real problems. For example, some institutions which have customised their Virtual Learning Environments - but not submitted their changes back to the project - have run into trouble when they upgraded to a new version which clashed with their customisations.  Such problems could have been avoided had they been able to integrate their local changes with the code base of the main project.

This OSS Watch workshop will present this argument in greater detail, explaining how developers engaged in customisations of open source software should make their contributions to a project. Speakers will present the issue from both sides of the process: that of the open source projects that look to encourage contributions, and that of external developers who might want to make them.

The event is free, and open to all.


Programme:

09.30    Registration

10.30    Welcome
10.40    Presentation:  The life of a Wookie; (Scott Wilson, University of Bolton).
11.25    Break
11.45    Presentation:  Be careful what you wish for with Open Source: How the Sakai project engages with open source communities (Dr. Ian Boston, University of Cambridge).

12.30    Lunch

13.30    Presentation/Demo:  The Line of Code That Could: Contributing to Moodle (Mark Johnson, Taunton's College).
14.15    Break
14.35    Plenary session
15.20    Conclusions
15.50    Close

Attendees are invited afterwards to an informal gathering at a pub with members of OSS Watch.