OpenDirective

Community Anti-patterns

Steve LeeOpenDirective

TransferSummit September 2011

Oxford UK

© OpenDirective licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

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Based on a talk and materials

byDavid Neary

www.slideshare.net/nearyd/community-antipatternscommunitymgt.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Anti-patterns

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Patterns are discovered

not

designed

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Patterns allow reproduction of best practice

throughdistilled essence

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Anti-Patterns

•Damaging or counter-productive practices or patterns of behaviour

•Often from best intentions•Some have polar opposites

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Symptoms

•Volunteers start work (or claim so)•Infrequent or vague progress reports•Others cannot do work as is in progress•Hand over resisted

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Causes

•Perfectionism•Over commited•Delusion•Letting go is to admit failure

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Treatment

•Clear Roadmap and assignment•Timebox•Parallel activity•Failure is OK

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Symptoms

•Newbie asks endless questions•Soaks up core team time

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Treatment

•Good docs•Encourage other newbies to answer•Encourage self help with pointers not answers•Let me google it for you (and others)•Walk the line between RTFM and being a crutch

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Symptoms

•Company keeps control•Community are all employees•Dual licence + commercial pressure + process•Water cooler decisions, big show, day 1 commit

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Treatment

•Founding companies need to embrace the chaos•Exchange influence for control•Work in glass houses with policies for progress•If it didn't happen on the list it didn't happen

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Symptoms

•Discussions about relatively unimportant issues•Endless extensive debate•Everyone has their say (me too)•One discussion drowns out others•Related to decision paralysis

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Treatment

•Diagnosis is often enough•Encourage action – implementation or bake off•See bikeshed.com

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Symptoms

•Insightful messages – flame bate•Concern•Off topic

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Treatment

•Ignore•Strong Moderation

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Treatment

•Ignore•Strong Moderation

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Treatment

•Very firm hand•Amputation

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Symptoms

•Contributor gets hired•Less visibility and less activity

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Treatment

•Train employer in value of community•Job description includes contribution•Metrics

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Symptoms

•Lack of care•Snowballs - increase in entropy•Vandalism

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Treatment

•Clear best practice•Identify problems or vandels•Manage and spread policing

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Symptoms

•Over zealous problem identification•Misanthropic moaning (Victor Meldrew)

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Treatment

•Private email – gentle reminder

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