New ebook, grant-funded open source work, availability
Hi, newsletter subscribers! Thanks for being interested in Changeset Consulting and my open source project management work.
I'll talk a little about Changeset's client projects, then tell you about useful new tools and resources, refer you to a few other consultants you should know about, and mention Changeset's availability for new work. For hyperlinks, view as HTML or see the archived version on the web at https://buttondown.email/Changeset .
Book & conference talks
I'm working on a book to teach you what I know about getting open source projects unstuck. For years, I've been joining FLOSS projects and helping turn them around, expedite releases, manage architecture rewrites, improve relations among maintainers, overhaul infrastructure, and more. I've now released an ebook sampler with three chapters from the full, forthcoming book. It's free for anyone who subscribes to this announcements mailing list (as a subscriber, you should have gotten an email with a download link).
In 2021 I'm looking forward to finishing this book and either self-publishing or working with a publisher. The working title is Getting Unstuck: Advice for Open Source Projects.
And in late January, I'll speak for the first time at Linux.Conf.Au, on "How To Get A Project Unstuck -- And Fixing The Skill Gaps That Got Us Here". You'll come away from this talk with steps you can take, in the short term and in the long run, to address this for projects you care about. Ticket sales are now open for LCA (which will of course be a virtual convention). Buy a ticket if you'd like to see my talk live and participate in questions-and-answers!
I also presented "Apply for Grants to Fund Open Source Work", a performing arts festival about programming, and "Python Grab Bag: A Set of Short Plays", which you can watch and read.
Client work
Some of what I've done in the last few years:
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I've been managing big improvements to the Python packaging toolchain. We made big changes to pip, and made a short video about that. We improved PyPI's security with two-factor auth, upload API tokens, and a project security history display. Mozilla interviewed me about my work on PyPI and made a short video. This work was grant-funded; in 2018 and 2019 I researched, and in many cases wrote, proposals that earned a total of USD$587,000 in funding. And, as a volunteer, I helped Pipenv's maintainers by expediting a delayed release.
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Writing more grant proposals! I cowrote and advised on the grant proposal overhaul that won Bokeh a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant for USD$250,000.
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I led communications for the sunsetting of Python 2, including writing this deliberately plain-language FAQ.
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For most of this year, Zack Weinberg and I have been working on a pretty ambitious project:
- to make a fresh release of GNU Autoconf, a crucial free and open source build tool that hadn't had a new release since 2012
- to get paid for that
- to help put Autoconf on a more sustainable footing so it doesn't have to get rescued again a little while down the road
Autoconf 2.70 is now out. Here's my LWN article about how we got there; if you care about Autoconf's future, read this post too.
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Management coaching with a mid-level leader in open source and with a bespoke software firm.
Grants, tools, and resources
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I've helped put together this list of funders for open source work. For early 2021, check out Comcast, OpenHumans, and the Tweag Open Source Fellowship.
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Moving an in-person sprint to remote: I shared some tips. My approach is less "top-down schedule" and more "here's how to adapt to and support the emergent ways people will act".
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There's a new Online Meeting Cooperative in case you want to use a cooperatively maintained BigBlueButton instance for videocalls!
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Draw.io is open source web-based diagramming software that exports to and imports from a bunch of different formats -- and you can save your diagram as XML so someone else can import and edit it. The info site is Diagrams.net. It has a hilarious footer -- check out the rightmost item, next to "Help and advice" and "About us."
Other cool things I did
- I cofounded the Project Funding Working Group of the Python Software Foundation, which helps apply for grants and similar funding for open source work.
- I am now a visiting scholar in the Secure Systems Lab at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering. We collaborate on better securing the Python package pipeline.
- The Better Scientific Software Fellowship Program awarded me an Honorable Mention for 2020.
- Folks interviewed me on podcasts.
- I made a five-minute video remix of 1980s ads for video games and phones.
Referrals
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Keffy R. M. Kehrli does podcast transcription for USD $50 per audio hour, with a ~24 hour turnaround. A pretty good deal, in my experience! The transcripts I've gotten from Keffy have been excellent. He is a scientist, a programmer, and a scifi fan, so he catches jargon that others don't.
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Mechanical engineer and writer Sarah Pavis is available for consulting. She has experience with every stage of designing and manufacturing industrial and consumer products, including travelling to audit factories in China. "...whether you have an idea you're looking to turn into a prototype or a small production run you're looking to scale to high volume manufacture, I can help." I've worked with Sarah and she's a detail-oriented, decisive and creative problem-solver.
Availability
Changeset is available for new engagements starting in February. Reply and we can set up a free initial consultation.
And I am available to give talks starting in February, and would particularly like to talk about how you can come into an existing project and help turn it around.
Best wishes, as always.
-- Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset Consulting