As presented by University of Oxford / OssWatch / Apache Software Foundation. For further details see: www.opense.net

1. open educational Framework for
computer science Software Engineering
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only
of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information
contained therein.
503641-LLP-1-2009-1-PT-ERASMUS-ECUE

2. The Apache Software Foundation
Mentoring Programme
13 July 2010

3. INDEX
The ASF Mentoring Programme
What is the ASF MP?
Why is the ASF MP being established?
How will it work?
Current Status
How will it integrate with OpenSE?

4. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» WHAT?
» Provide a common set of guidance materials
» How does a typical ASF project work?
» What tools are used?
» How are decisions made?
» Etc.
» Provide a central place for process questions
» Technical questions remain in the project
» Provide a link between project mentors and newcomers
4

5. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» WHY?
» Open source software is confusing
» How does it work?
» How do I contribute?
» The ASF is a large intimidating place
» Famous names
» Established communities
» Project members don't always have the time
» Patches earn merit
» To teach can take as long as to patch
5

6. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» WHY?
» These problems exist for all roles and transitions between them
»
»
»
»
»
»
» Problems increase as the ASF grows
6

7. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» HOW? ROLE SPECIFIC SUPPORT
» Provide relevant support and materials for each role transition
» Two key approaches
» Documentation for those who learn by reading
» Mentoring for those who learn by doing
7

8. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» HOW?
» The GSoC mentoring model works, but...
» Code only, Students only
» Cash disrupts the volunteer status and meritocracy process
» Summer only
» Provide year round rolling mentor programme
» Guidance materials
» Support mailing list
8

9. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» HOW? GUIDANCE MATERIALS
» Currently spread across the foundation website
» Site search covers all project sites
» Need to make generic materials more accessible
» Some ideas:
» Build content/index pages at community.apache.org
» Build custom search engine
» Collate appropriate materials at community.apache.org
» Communicate common concepts via blog
9

10. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» HOW? MENTORING
» Process for new mentees:
» ASF publishes project issues available for mentees
» Mentee identifies a project issue to work on
» Mentee completes an application to work on the project and submits
it to the ComDev mailing list
»
» If successful, ComDev seeks a mentor and hands over to project
community
»
10

11. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» STATUS
» Mentor programme
» Outline documentation complete
» Potential mentor issues identified
» Guidance Materials
» Blog
» http://blogs.apache.org/comdev/
» NewbieFaq
» http://community.apache.org/newbiefaq.html
11

12. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» Integration with OpenSE: Finding a Project
» Stage 4 in the LSF: real world project
» ASF maintains a list of projects available for mentoring
» RSS feed of projects on OpenSE web site
» Learners identify a project
» Learners submit an application/proposal
» ASF ComDev team evaluate the proposal
» ComDev team finds mentor and hands over
12

13. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» Integration with OpenSE: Learner Support during Project
» Learner interacts directly with the mentor/project community via the
project mailing list for technical issues
» Learner receives process and skills support through the OpenSE site
» During the pilots, one point of contact for process issues coordinates
between OpenSE and the ComDev volunteers via their mailing list
» Formally enrolled students can also access tutor support if required
13

14. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» Integration with OpenSE: Tracking Learner Progress
» Reporting
» ASF mid-term and full term mentee reports
» ASF mid-term and full term mentor reports
» Mailing list discussions
» JIRA issue tracker entries
» Task management
» Patch submissions
» Version control entries
14

15. THE ASF MENTORING PROGRAMME
» Integration with OpenSE: Lessons learned from GSoC
» External motivations can be an issue. In GSoC: payment for code,
» In OpenSE: fulfilling course requirements?
» Adherence to proper communication channels
»
finished work
» Success rates GSoC: 83%. ASF: 71% - processes
15

16. PARTNERS
Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação, SA Stichting Free Knowledge Institute
José Carvalho Wouter Tebbens
e-Mail: josecarvalho@spi.pt e-Mail: wouter@freeknowledge.eu
URL: http://www.spieurope.eu/ URL: http://www.freeknowledge.eu
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki University of Maastricht / UNU-MERIT
Ioannis Stamelos Rüdiger Glott
e-Mail: stamelos@csd.auth.gr e-Mail: glott@merit.unu.edu
URL: http://www.auth.gr/home/ URL: http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/
http://www.merit.unu.edu/
Tampere University of Technology
Imed Hammouda University of Oxford
e-Mail: imed.hammouda@tut.fi Ross Gardler
URL: http://www.tut.fi/public/ e-Mail: ross.gardler@oucs.ox.ac.uk
URL: http://www.ox.ac.uk/
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Jesús M. González-Barahona The Open University
e-Mail: jesus.gonzalez.barahona@urjc.es Patrick Mc Andrew
URL: http://www.urjc.es/ e-Mail: p.mcandrew@open.ac.uk
URL: http://www.open.ac.uk/
Avancees (EPITA)
Olivier Ricou linkSpace Management Services
e-Mail: ricou@lrde.epita.fr Gesellschaft m.b.H (representing the
URL: http://www.epita.fr/ European Learning Industry Group)
Elmar Husmann
e-Mail: huselmar@de.ibm.com
URL: http://www.elig.org