A mountain of anecdotal evidence has shown that participating in open source projects is a great way for IT professionals to advance their careers. They pick up new skills, grow their networks, and demonstrate an impressive level of initiative. But participation is not enough. These professionals must also advance the open source project in question. And if they don’t, or even jeopardize the project, the career implications could be severe. For that reason, be mindful of these three ways that you could ruin an open source project:
Failing to Communicate
The success of any open source project depends on all the participants freely sharing ideas and issues. In practice, this ensures that the knowledge of each individual enriches the experience of the whole. But when there is a lack of communication, or communication is unclear, problems quickly begin to pile up. For instance, if one participant spots an error but fails to report it, that error will likely go on to affect every other user. A small problem quickly compounds itself into a larger one.
Operating Illegally
Open source projects can get into some thorny legal territory. It is surprisingly easy to violate patents, copyrights, and trademarks, and in those instances, the developers could face stiff penalties. Another common mistake is failing to apply a proper open source license to the product release. Diligent project managers can spot these problems in advance, but only if they’re aware of how easy it is for open source projects to drift across legal boundaries.
Making a Project Unmarketable
The ultimate goal of any open source project is to attract the largest number of users. Projects frequently jeopardize this mission by designing clunky UX/UI, by requiring users to configure software in complex ways, and even by picking project names that are hard to find in search engines. It can be easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees which is why the best open source projects undergo extensive user testing before they are released to the general public. This ensures people will actually want to use the finished product and extend its lifespan.
Are you currently working on an open source project? If so, you can leverage that experience to help you find better jobs at more exciting companies for higher compensation. Find out how by working with the IT-recruiting experts at The Squires Group.
