This was my presentation at Open Source Days on March 5, 2011 at the Copenhagen School of Business in Denmark. I spoke about the lessons I've learned from the Joomla project's leadership, and how other projects could use these lessons to avoid pitfalls and adapt success stories from it.

1. Leading large OSS projects with 100% volunteer leadership March 5, 2011

2. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 2 God morgen Open Source Days!

3. 130 slides in about 40 minutes! Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 3 3.25 slides per minute

4. Ryan, where is your friend? ? Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 4

5. Hold please. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 5

6. Much better! Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 6

7. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 7 Who am I?

8. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 8 Who am I?

9. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 9 Who am I?

10. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 10 Who am I? Ryan Ozimek Common American boy’sname in the 1970’s Polish heritage

11. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 11 Where do I live?

12. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 12 Where do I live?

13. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 13 What’s my job?

14. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 14 Ryan != developer

15. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 15 What’s my job?

16. What’s Joomla? Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 16

17. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 17 Being president has its benefits

18. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 18 Being president has its benefits

19. Being president has its benefits But most importantly… Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 19

20. Being president has its benefits Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 20

21. My goal for today Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 21

22. Let’s dive in to the scary stuff Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 22

23. The freaky economics of it all Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 23

24. Reality check on motivation Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 24

25. Reality check on motivation Their findings… Carrots and sticks work, but… Really only works when the task requires rudimentary cognitive skills Even crazier... At some point, when you provide higher monetary rewards for more critical thinking tasks, you actually get WORSE results Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 25

26. Reality check on motivation What really motivates people for more complex tasks are three key things Autonomy Ability to direct one’s own life Mastery Innate urge to get better at stuff Purpose The desire and aim for betterment Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 26

27. Reality check on motivation Does this sound familiar to folks in the room here? Isn’t this what open source software development is all about? Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 27

28. Extremely bright people Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 28

29. Already busy with their lives Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 29

30. Dedicating tons of time Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 30

31. For how much? For FREE! Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 31

32. I’m no genius myself RSA Animate http://bit.ly/what-motivates-people Nice video. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 32

33. A higher purpose Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 33

34. A higher purpose I believe that people are acting economically irrationally because… they want to contribute to something bigger than themselves Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 34

35. “Making a dent in the universe” Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 35

36. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 36 My core open source value > The relationships we build are more important than the tools

37. An overview of today’s party My short open source story A short history of Joomla! Lessons learned, pitfalls to avoid, success achieved Stump thepresenter questions from the audience Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 37

38. My short open source story …because where you come from says a lot about who you are… Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 38

39. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 39

40. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 40

41. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 41

42. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 42

43. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 43

44. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 44

45. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 45

46. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 46

47. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 47 “Rooting out inefficiencies in non-profits”

48. My short open source story Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 48

49. My short open source story Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 49

50. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 50

51. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 51

52. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 52 Joomla!Day West 2007

53. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 53 Joomla!Day East 2007

54. My short open sourcestory Events Team Leader Capital Committee Chair Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 54

55. My short open sourcestory Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 55

56. Why did I tell you this story? Nobody in this room is simply a consumer of open source software Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 56

57. Why did I tell you this story? All of us have unique talents Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 57

58. Why did I tell you this story? We are more than users… Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 58

59. We are empoweredcontributors! Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 59

60. Why did I tell you this story? Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 60

61. A long short history of Joomla Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 61

62. The unique birth of a project Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 62

63. The unique birth of a project Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 63

64. Starting off as an orphan Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 64 2001

65. Open source patriots Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 65

66. Declaration of independence Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 66

67. My small contribution Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 67

68. Real people, not avatars Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 68

69. A new era Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 69 2005

70. What a ride since then! Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 70

71. Incredible growth of users Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 71 6,351 new users each month

72. Incredible growth of developers Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 72 Average 113 new add-ons per month

73. Incredible growth in installations Joomla powers 2.7% of the top 1 million sites on the Web Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 73

74. Joomla is a massive ship… Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 74

75. …and we’re small boats too. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 75

76. Volunteers lead by passion If you’re not going to pay people, you need to use other motivators Autonomy Mastery Purpose Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 76

77. Joomla’s mission Our mission is to provide a flexible platform for digital publishing and collaboration. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 77

78. Joomla’s vision People publishing and collaborating in their communities and around the world Software that is free, secure, and high-quality A community that is enjoyable and rewarding to participate in Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 78

79. Joomla’s values Freedom Equality Trust Community Collaboration Usability Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 79

80. Start with mission, vision, values Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 80 http://bit.ly/jmission

81. Start with mission, vision, values Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 81

82. Start with mission, vision, values Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 82

83. How did we get here? Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 83

84. Organization leadership types Two typical types of leadership for open source projects Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 84

85. Organization leadership types Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 85

86. Organization leadership types Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 86

87. Organization leadership types Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 87

88. The uniqueness of Joomla! Paraphrasing the great Allen Gunn: I want to help out Joomla because if you can succeed, there's hope for distributed leadership models of all types in the open source world. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 88 Allen Gunn Aspiration Tech

89. An important mantra Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 89

90. Joomla’s leadership evolution Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 90

91. The new leadership’s beginning Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 91 Core Team 20+ members

92. The new leadership’s beginning Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 92 3 members Open Source Matters Core Team 20+ members

93. The new leadership’s beginning Open Source Matters (non-profit organization) Legal Financial Core Team Everything else Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 93 Weak Strong

94. The new leadership’s beginning Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 94 WG WG WG Leader Leader Core Team Leader WG WG Leader Leader Working Groups

95. Successes of WG model Breakup of large tasks into smaller tasks with specific teams devoted to them Provided a leadership model for each of the key teams Enabled us to hit key successes in the framework moving from our fork of Mambo to a true new framework Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 95

96. What happens over time? End of the revolution party, the hangover period begins People start to realize that they’ve missed other things they were supposed to do in life Nurturing new leaders takes time Leaders need to leave theirresponsibilities to others…who now have really full workloads Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 96

97. Key challenge of the WG model As people left, there wasn’t enough backfill to help out People started taking on too many tasks, working groups started becoming inactive Put simply: major burnout, and slow collapse of the WG model Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 97

98. Complicating factors History of quiet development Closed core team mailing list Great key developers lead the project for many years Lead to burn-out Interpersonal challenges made it difficult to make the significant changes necessary, quickly Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 98

99. Lessons learned Need to simplify the working group structures, mold into larger groups Build leadership teams rather than individual roles Speak more publically, less on private “core team list” Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 99

100. The result? Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 100 Production Leadership Team Community Leadership Team OpenSourceMatters Significant reorganization

101. Cautious patriots Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 101

102. A change of course for OSM Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 102

103. A change of course for OSM Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 103

104. Keep it simple Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 104

105. TEA! Transparency Empowerment Accountability Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 105

106. Simple idea starts the change Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 106

107. Request feedback from leaders Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 107

108. Reflect on lessons learned Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 108

109. Set high goals Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 109

110. Leadership coaching, delegation Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 110

111. Accomplishments? Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 111

112. Restored fiscal health Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 112

113. Improved trademark process TM Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 113

114. Better communications Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 114

115. Onboarding new leaders Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 115

116. Onboarding new leaders Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 116

117. Onboarding new leaders FOSSPOLS survey found that in 2006, women represented < 1.5% of contributors and leaders in open source projects In the beginning, 0% of our board members were women In 2010, 29% of our board members were women Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 117

118. Focus on one thing at a time Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 118

119. Focused on building systems Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 119

120. Moral of the story What’s good for the non-profit of the organization might not be good for the other parts Division of labor Incentives and motivations Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 120

121. Moral of the story Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 121

122. Happy, energized contributors! Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 122

123. My open source motivation Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 123

124. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 124 Tak Open Source Days!

125. Happy to answer questions Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 125

126. Open Source Days – Mar 5, 2011 Ryan Ozimek - @cozimek 126 Feel free to contact me! Ryan Ozimek President Open Source Matters Twitter: @cozimek ryan.ozimek@opensourcematters.org