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Open Source Project Management for Beginners?

Posted by Cliff on from the new-to-the-neighborhood dept.

aendeuryu asks: "So I've been getting the programming bug again, and I started up a Sourceforge project for a game I'm trying to write. Development is going really well so far, but I've quickly realized that programming in my own personal vaccuum for my own personal pleasure is completely different from programming for the community at large. Things I never needed to worry about -- applying patches, writing documentation, license requirements, creating autoconf files for Linux compatibility -- are suddenly my responsibility. Now, I'm trained in programming in several languages, using databases and specialized libraries, etc. but when it comes to deployment for, and interacting with, the Open Source community at large, I know just about nothing. So, to all the veterans out there, where is a good place to go to get your feet wet on this? Is there any good advice for people who are getting started in OS project management?"

1 of 56 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Don't get too excited by reynaert · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The code was finished (at least from our perspective, we couldn't think of any way to improve upon it) and now it looks like a failed project, even though it's finished, stable and documented.

    But on Sourceforge you list it as "Status: Alpha/Beta", your last release was 0.2 half a year ago and the mailing list is inactive. You web site has no documentation, no references to projects using your code, and, again, no mailing lists. It has all the tell-tale signs of a failed project.

    So my recommendations:

    • Put the documentation online.
    • Given that there's a second developer, communicate over the mailing list. Don't use private mail or IM. That way other people can comment too, and, well, participate in development. Or just see that the developers are still active.
    • Even if there are no other developers, even if you know nobody is subscribed, still send at least announcements of new versions to the list.
    • Put your own mailing list archive online, or use GMane. SF's mailing list archives suck.
    • If you believe your code is stable, don't advertise it as "alpha". Just go ahead and call it 1.0. If it turns out you want to make some large changes, call it 2.0.
    • Back to your website. Get rid of that stupid contact form. Who even uses those things? Advertise your mailing list instead.
    • Get rid of PHP. Your site is slow and has ugly URL's. It's much easier to refer somebody to http://pobs.sf.net/download.html than to http://pobs.sf.net/index.php?section=9&page=25.