Adopting InnerSource

Adopting InnerSource

by Danese Cooper, Klaas-Jan Stol
Released September 2018
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781492041856

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

The application of open source principles and practices to create in-house software is taking off in the corporate world. Known as InnerSource, this development strategy lets development teams collaborate and share code to speed delivery and improve quality while helping to eliminate silos and bottlenecks. With this practical ebook, you’ll explore case studies from Bell Labs, PayPal, Ericsson, Nike, Bosch, and Europace that demonstrate why and how InnerSource can work in your organization.

These case studies candidly discuss the difficulties of starting InnerSource projects, as well as the benefits and trials each company experienced during the process. Authors Danese Cooper and Klaas-Jan Stol also provide executives, midlevel managers, and developers with advice for choosing and structuring your first InnerSource experiment.

You’ll explore how:

  • The Apache Software Foundation codified many of the best practices learned by open source developers over decades
  • Bell Laboratories used an early InnerSource approach to implement VoIP
  • Bosch uses InnerSource to improve collaboration among business units worldwide
  • PayPal’s Symphony module developed into the company’s longest and most intentional InnerSource experiment
  • Fintech company Europace uses InnerSource to move toward decentralized self-organization
  • Ericsson developed its own unique InnerSource model for several projects, including a consistent user interface
  • Nike built a reusable continuous development infrastructure using InnerSource principles

Table of contents

  1. Foreword
  2. 1. The InnerSource Approach to Innovation and Software Development
    1. Old Patterns of Development: Closed and Slow
    2. Factors Driving Open Source
    3. Proprietary Hierarchies
    4. The Open Source Way
      1. Why Does Open Source Development Succeed?
    5. What Is InnerSource?
      1. A History of InnerSource
    6. Why Do Companies Adopt InnerSource?
      1. Breaking Down Silos and Bottlenecks
      2. Reuse
      3. Knowledge Sharing and Full Stack Teams
      4. Innovation
      5. Improving Quality
      6. Staff Mobility and Process Standardization
    7. InnerSource Today
    8. Why We Wrote This Book
    9. Who Should Read This Book
    10. How This Book Is Organized
      1. Visit Us Online
      2. Acknowledgments
  3. 2. The Apache Way and InnerSource
    1. Origins of The Apache Way
    2. Fundamentals of The Apache Way
      1. Meritocracy
      2. Transparency
      3. Community
  4. 3. From Corporate Open Source to InnerSource: A Serendipitous Journey at Bell Laboratories
    1. Background on Internet Protocols for Voice Communication
    2. SIP: A Brief Background
    3. The Project: The Common SIP Stack (CSS)
      1. Phase 1 (1998–2000): The Foundational Years
      2. Phase 2 (2001–2003): Opportunistic Partnering
      3. Phase 3 (2004–2006): Corporate Open Source
    4. Reflections, Insights, and Discussion
      1. Advertising and Encouragement
      2. The SIP Asset: By the Numbers
      3. Looking Back
    5. Acknowledgments
  5. 4. Living in a BIOSphere at Robert Bosch
    1. Why InnerSource
    2. Starting the BIOS Journey
    3. Establishing and Growing the BIOSphere
      1. BIOS Values
      2. BIOS Review Committee
      3. BIOS Governance Office
      4. Attracting Contributors
    4. From BIOS to Social Coding
      1. Sustaining Social Coding
    5. Success Stories
      1. Widespread Adoption
      2. Diverse Ecosystem of Communities
      3. Improved Collaboration
      4. Personal Growth
      5. Increased Productivity
      6. Alignment with Business
    6. Success Factors
    7. Challenges
    8. Lessons Learned
    9. Conclusion
    10. Acknowledgments
  6. 5. Checking Out InnerSource at PayPal
    1. A Little Background
    2. Attributes of InnerSource
    3. The CheckOut Experiment
    4. The Onboarding Experiment
    5. Executive Air Cover
    6. Meanwhile, in India
      1. Learning Goals
    7. Beginning Symphony and InnerSource Brand Dilution
    8. Initial Symphony Training
    9. The Contributing.md File
    10. Cadence of Check-Ins
    11. Outcomes
    12. The Rhythm of InnerSource Work
    13. The Future of InnerSource at PayPal
    14. Acknowledgments
  7. 6. Borrowing Open Source Practices at Europace
    1. Looking for New Ways of Organizing
    2. Starting the Journey Toward InnerSource
      1. Why InnerSource?
      2. InnerSource Experiments
    3. Steps Toward InnerSource
      1. Getting People on Board
      2. Leading by Example
    4. InnerSource Principles
      1. InnerSource Results
      2. InnerSource: One Year Later
    5. InnerSource Challenges
      1. Building Trust in Written Communication
      2. Scaling InnerSource Beyond First Experiments
      3. Getting Other, Nondeveloper Colleagues on Board
      4. Crossing the Boundary Toward Open APIs and Open Source
    6. Conclusion and Future Outlook
    7. Acknowledgments
  8. 7. Connecting Teams with InnerSource at Ericsson
    1. The Changing Telecommunications Landscape
    2. Why InnerSource?
      1. Scaling Up Development Capacity
      2. Reducing Waste
      3. Improving Quality
    3. Starting the Community Developed Software Program
      1. Creating Core Teams
      2. Setting Up Contribution Rules
      3. Setting Up a Flexible CDS Infrastructure
      4. Creating the Governance Council
    4. Selecting Components and Development Models
      1. Development Zones
      2. Collaboration Workflow
    5. Making Collaborations Happen
    6. Pillars of Community-Developed Software
    7. Success: The User Interface SDK Framework
    8. Lessons Learned
    9. The Future of InnerSource at Ericsson
    10. Acknowledgments
  9. 8. Adopting InnerSource
    1. Comparison of the Case Studies
      1. Product
      2. Processes and Tools
      3. Community and Management
    2. Guidelines for Adopting InnerSource
      1. Product
      2. Process and Tools
      3. Community and Management
    3. The InnerSource Commons
  10. 9. Epilogue
  11. Glossary

Product information

  • Title: Adopting InnerSource
  • Author(s): Danese Cooper, Klaas-Jan Stol
  • Release date: September 2018
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781492041856