How open source projects and communities develop

Read through this walkthrough of how an open source project goes from an idea to fully realized open source community.

1 - THE FIRST CODE
An individual, group, or enterprise creates software that solves a problem.

2 - OPENING THE CODE
These creators make the source code accessible to the publish, attach an open source license, and invite other people to collaborate. This establishes the open rouce project.

3 - USERS AND COLLABORATORS JOIN IN
Other people access and use the software. The first collaborators join the project and share their ideas and modifications. The creators follow a review process and accept modifications into the project code.

4 - THE COMMUNITY GROWS
More collaborators join the effort to improve the software. The group develops its own infrastructure of participation (communication channels, technical platforms, and governance models), making it easier to manage the community’s growth over time. The software itself becomes synonymous with the community project.

5 - THE SOFTWARE MATURES
The software works reliably enough that people begin depending on it. Even users who are not programmers start installing and using it.

6 - THE SOFTWARE GAINS POPULARITY
End users are starting to surpass community membership. That community relies on its membership to support the software as it becomes more popular. Users bring even more ideas to the community on how to improve the software’s features and functions.

7 - THE SOFTWARE STABILIZES
The community releases new versions of the software when they are ready for general consumption. These new versions incorporate feedback and modifications from users and programmers.

8 - SUSTAIN AND INNOVATE
The software matures to the point that its maintainers seek a more sustainable financial model for supporting it. The software becomes the basis of new developments and innovations beyond its original project community.