How To Make Your OS Project Successful

Basics

• An Article by hfhfr, on OSS, but applicable to OSH

Analysis

• "First off, have the right idea and build something that solves some kind of common problem. . It helps tremendously if you’re going into some kind of problem area without a lot of existing solutions. "
  • Essentially don't enter a flooded market (at least untill becoming well known) due to it being harder to break out
  • Also if you are making a good fix for a need PEOPLE TEND TO USE THAT SOLUTION
• " Be as openly transparent about the project as you can early on and try to attract other contributors. Don’t go dark on a project or strive for perfection before releasing your project or starting to talk about it in public. "
  • Clear documentation, and effective pr are key
• " Or just as valuable, try to get yourself some early adopters to get feedback and more ideas about the direction of the project. "
  • "real world" feedback helps find problems you can't see, and helps make the product "fit" better
• " This deserves its own full fledged conversation, but make sure there’s enough README documentation and build automation to get new contributors up and running fast in the codebase. "
  • Readability/Clear Layout of Documentation is key for new people (granted technical pages are technical etc, and jargon can be needed, but have a good basics section + navigation section + organization etc)
• "Try to be responsive to user problems and questions. This is a “do as I say, not as I do” kind of thing"
  • Leads back to feedback, but in a more constant flow

Useful Links

• The Article