Getting support for open sourcing code internally

Now that you know why a company would open source code, let’s walk through what we must consider as we go through the process of proposing to open source code. Note that every company works a bit differently, so many of the points I’ll cover are at a higher level; however, the general concepts are key ones that any company will need solid answers to.

Reviewing what’s out there already

Open source projects are consistently under-resourced. Even if there are enough developers, those developers might not have the bandwidth to write tests, build documentation, triage incoming issues, respond to questions, and deal with security issues. Working together helps make projects more efficient, have a larger impact, and address more features and use cases than working alone.

Before you start a new open source project, research other ones out there that might solve the same problem. As you review them, consider these...