Being a product owner in an open source project
summary
Compares concrete upstream/downstream workflows: Foreman, Pulp, Candlepin feed a Satellite downstream with 3-month upstream / 6-month downstream release cadence, causing gaps and unexpected external contributions. Tests three sync strategies — manual sync vs automatic sync — and finds full automation creates noise and privacy risk (Debian-package noise, leaked customer data). Advocates spikes, community RFCs, using Discourse feedback (one user revealed scaling problems with tens of thousands of jobs), delegating review to empowered engineers, and a containerization RFC to build consensus. treat community as stakeholder
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chapters (17)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:46Upstream versus downstream
- 3:29Scrum vs open source
- 5:55PO challenges in open source
- 8:39Communicating goals and backlog
- 11:07Syncing upstream and downstream
- 14:13Managing open source communities
- 16:22Engaging stakeholders and feedback
- 18:49Integrating open source and Scrum
- 21:26Managing developer time for upstream
- 23:45AI contributions in open source
- 25:46Long-term bug resolution
- 27:08Supporting external developers
- 29:58Building culture and trust
- 30:19Advice for new POs
- 32:47Negotiating priorities
- 34:55Q&A
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