Employees working on open source.
WHY IT NEEDS A POSITION
Employee contributions raise questions of ownership, time and representation.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Whether employees may contribute during work time Whether they may contribute to projects you use What they may disclose Who owns what they produce
WHY OWNERSHIP
Work produced during employment may belong to the business, and contributing it requires authority.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
That contributions are authorised.
WHAT CONTRIBUTOR AGREEMENTS DO
Some projects require contributors to sign an agreement about rights in their contribution.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Whether the project requires one, and whether you can agree to it.
WHY
It may transfer or license rights the business holds.
WHAT TO REVIEW
Any such agreement, before employees sign it.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT CONFIDENTIALITY
That contributions do not disclose confidential information.
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL WITH
Code containing internal details Credentials and configuration Customer data in test cases Comments revealing internal matters
WHY
Published contributions are permanent and searchable.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Review before anything is published.
WHAT BENEFITS CONTRIBUTION PROVIDES THE BUSINESS
Reduced maintenance of local modifications Influence over components you depend on Recruitment and reputation Staff development
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Time allocated, where it serves the business.
WHY EXPLICITLY
Contribution done entirely in personal time is not sustained.
WHAT TO AVOID
Claiming credit for employees' personal contributions Requiring contribution Preventing it entirely without reason
WHY THAT LAST POINT
It is a factor in whether technical staff stay.
