[vtk-developers] Attracting next generation of developers

[Wes Turner]

On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 9:13 AM, David Gobbi <david.gobbi at gmail.com> wrote:

> The most important thing is to engage the community.  Developers will
> be very forgiving about the process as long as you keep them engaged.
>
> Community engagement requires:
>
> - Responsive communication.  You don't need to always have the answer,
> you just need to not be silent.
>
> - Dedication.  Share your dreams and show that you care about the
> future.  Help your employees to do the same.
>
> - Transparency.  Lay out the roadmap for all to see.  Summarize
> important development meetings on the wiki.
>
> You got this NIH grant, so far I see OpenGL2 and community outreach
> as aims, but for the most part I'm in the dark about your plans.  When
> developers are kept in the dark, they feel like they're being shut out.
>
>
> There are several potential pools of developers:
>
> 1) VTK developers that currently hoard their code instead of
> contributing it back to VTK. This is a huge pool of capable
> developers. As John indicated in his email from this morning,
> process is important but the key is simple: when these people
> want to contribute, don't flat-out ignore them!
>

+1 Make contributing simple and be responsive.

- Wes


> 2) Companies for whom VTK is a core tool, and who therefore have a
> stake in its development.  Really, these are the same as (1) except
> that they often have more resources.
>
> 3) Big grants and collaborations, where large chunks of development is
> done outside of Kitware.  These undoubtedly help to increase the pool
> of developers, so a the question is, how to keep those developers
> engaged and ensure that good results are fed back into VTK.
>
> 4) Young hot-shots who see VTK as just the thing they need for their
> new project.  For them, having a "Cool and Hip" VTK is important, but
> the three bullet points at the top of this email are much, much more
> important.
>
> I've got tons more that I could ramble on about, but it's time for
> breakfast (it's still 7am here in western Canada).
>
>  - David
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-- 
Wesley D. Turner, Ph.D.
Kitware, Inc.
Technical Leader
28 Corporate Drive
Clifton Park, NY 12065-8662
Phone: 518-881-4920
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