Presented by

  • Mariam Guizani

    Mariam Guizani
    @mariam_gui

    Mariam Guizani is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Oregon State University and an upcoming Assistant Professor at Queen's University. Her research centers around improving the state of Diversity and Inclusion in complex socio-technical ecosystems by empowering communities to dismantle cognitive and social barriers that introduce inequities. More specifically, she focuses on designing processes and tools to help Open-Source Software (OSS) communities make their projects more inclusive and attract and retain contributors. During her time at Oregon State University, Mariam has collaborated with the Apache Software Foundation (ASF). She has interned at Microsoft Research where she designed a maintainer dashboard that is now built into two GitHub products and is now working closely with ASF and Google on implementing interventions for sustainable communities.

Abstract

Open Source Software (OSS) is no longer a “weekend warrior’s endeavor". Over the last 20 years, the OSSecosystem composition has changed drastically. OSS is nowfundamental to company operations–not only for the code thatthey depend on, but also for their role in an ecosystem towhich they actively contribute. This is a paradigm shift from the early days when OSS was viewed as a threatthat commoditized software to today where individuals andcompanies work symbiotically. From large technology companies to startups, companies are participating in the OSS ecosystem by open-sourcing their technology and sponsoring projects through funding or paid developer time. However, our understanding of the OSS ecosystem is rooted in the “old world” model where individual contributors sustain OSS projects. In this talk, we will discuss our findings on what motivates companies to contribute to OSS, the multifaceted ways they contribute to OSS, and the lessons learned. We hope these findings help nudge more companies to participate in the OSS ecosystem and continue to foster a symbiotic OSS and company relationship, ultimately creating a sustainable open- source community. Join us!