The Value of Mentoring in Open Source

08/12/21 • 20 min

The OCTOpod: Conversations with SUSE's Office of the CTO

Mentoring is part of many organizations and companies, but it can be a controversial practice. In today’s episode, we talk about the value of mentoring in the open source community. Our guests today are Rossella Sblendido, who directs the engineering department SUSE, and Sayali Lunkad, a software developer at SUSE and a self-proclaimed open-source enthusiast. Rossella has been a mentor and Sayali has experience as a mentee. We hear about what makes a good mentor and why it is a role you have to learn to inhabit. Sayali shares what being a mentee was like and the value that comes with being given opportunities to learn. Rossella and Sayali respond to some of the common criticisms around mentoring and suggest how these relationships can be successful. Our conversation also touches on what mentors gain from the relationship, opportunities for mentorship in open source, and advice for either aspiring mentors or mentees.

Key Points From This Episode:

How mentoring works in the open source world and the purpose it serves.
Who usually sponsors open source mentoring programs.
Responses to some of the common criticisms around mentorship programs.
The primary responsibilities of a mentor, and attributes that make a mentor effective.
Sayali’s experience as a mentee, and the project that she worked on.
The attribute Sayali found most helpful during her mentorship program.
How Sayali came to the OpenStack Outreachy program,
Why Rossella decided to become a mentor.
Some of the reasons Sayali would recommend mentorship opportunities for upcoming developers.
The availability of mentorship programs in open source.
Advice for aspiring mentors and potential mentees.
Final words from Rossella about mentoring.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Google Summer of Code

Key Points From This Episode:

How mentoring works in the open source world and the purpose it serves.
Who usually sponsors open source mentoring programs.
Responses to some of the common criticisms around mentorship programs.
The primary responsibilities of a mentor, and attributes that make a mentor effective.
Sayali’s experience as a mentee, and the project that she worked on.
The attribute Sayali found most helpful during her mentorship program.
How Sayali came to the OpenStack Outreachy program,
Why Rossella decided to become a mentor.
Some of the reasons Sayali would recommend mentorship opportunities for upcoming developers.
The availability of mentorship programs in open source.
Advice for aspiring mentors and potential mentees.
Final words from Rossella about mentoring.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Google Summer of Code

Previous Episode

Creating an Open Source Startup with Sheng Liang

There are many potential benefits to adopting the open-source approach to building a start-up and here to discuss some of these and his experience in the field is SUSE's President of Engineering and Innovation, Sheng Liang. In our conversation, we get to share in some of Sheng's wisdom and business know-how, talking about pragmatic solutions to common issues from the world of open-source and start-ups more generally. Sheng explains why he thinks open-source is a smart path for businesses but is not the answer to every question. He gets into why the agility of open-source can also be of benefit to companies in their early phases, and the lessons that he learned during his work at cloud.com, prior to joining Rancher Labs and SUSE. Sheng makes the point that without developing a relationship with your users and creating something that people actually care about, your ideas will never have an impact, and believes that being able to pivot when a great idea does not connect should always be an option. So for all this and more from our inspiring guest, be sure to listen in!

Key Points From This Episode:

The beginnings of Rancher Labs and Sheng's experience of starting an open-source company.
How the open-source philosophy figured into the initial plans for Rancher.
Differentiating an open-source approach from other business models.
Sheng's perspective on when going the open-source route is smart for business.
Addressing the problem of the number of non-paying users in the open-source model.
The two typical communities that open-source markets to: developers and users.
Balancing innovation and stability at a new start-up; Sheng's best advice to this end.
Sheng's approach to keeping the start-up spirit alive within Rancher now that it is a part of SUSE.
The most important considerations when deciding about whether to follow an open-source route.
Advice from Sheng about software startups and the central question of creating engagement.
Weighing the feedback your company receives and what to take most notice of.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Alan Clark

Sheng Liang on LinkedIn

Next Episode

Diversity and Inclusion in Open Source with Amy Marrich

The focus of today's discussion is the important conversation and project of diversity and inclusion in the open-source space. Joining us to share her expertise and experience on the topic is Amy Marrich from the CHAOSS Project and someone who has dedicated much time and energy to creating more accessible and comfortable spaces for a wider range of people. In our chat, we get to hear how Amy became curious and got involved in this side of open-source work before she unpacks some of the layers of why these goals are so important. Listeners will get a basic understanding from our guest, as she provides some very helpful definitions and reflections, that are great departure points, no matter your knowledge level. Our guest also weighs in on how she measures the success of the work she does in inclusion and diversity, and to round things out, shares an inspiring anecdote that illustrates the importance of this work!

Key Points From This Episode:

A basic definition of diversity and inclusion and how these concepts have evolved.
Why the ideas and practices of diversity and inclusion are important in the open source world.
How larger social issues tie into the tech and software professions.
The coming to light of the relevant issues, and Amy's experiences and discoveries.
Best practices and current initiatives that are helping the diversity and inclusion cause.
Determining priorities and the most critical issues to address at any time.
The surveys that Amy and her team use to measure the success of initiatives.
Amy's thoughts on the current state of things and how far we still have to go.
Addressing individual concerns of exclusion and the importance of speaking up
A success story from Amy's work that shows the impact of people feeling welcome and safe.
Why Amy prioritizes comfort and belonging and uses this as the main measure of success.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Amy Marrich on Twitter

SUSE & Rancher Community

TODO Group https://todogroup.org/