Joining the .NET Foundation Maturity Model Pilot

Richard

September 23rd, 2019

Joining the .NET Foundation Maturity Model Pilot

The .NET Foundation is starting a new pilot program to increase quality and user confidence in open source projects, using a new project maturity model. We’ve been working with the Technical Review Action Group at the Foundation to help shape the program. We’re happy to see the pilot being launched and that the .NET Team is participating in the project. For us, this includes the underlying .NET platform, and also the packages we release.

We get to talk with larger organizations frequently, both from the private and public sectors, about open source. On one end of the spectrum, we see enthusiastic adopters of open source and on the other, an “open source isn’t safe for our business” approach. We also see organizations at all points between, and listen to their feedback about their practices using (or not using) open source and why. There are merits for each pattern we see. A big part of our contribution to the pilot was generalizing the underlying reasons for those approaches, and validating that the new maturity model will provide benefit to these organizations, and make adoption of open source safer and easier for them.

This new pilot program is similar to programs already in place at other foundations, like Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and Apache Foundation. It is great to see the .NET Foundation expanding its role and taking on some of the same kind of charter as other communities use. The track record at these foundations speaks for itself, so it makes sense to emulate their approach.

The .NET Foundation is proposing three new programs:

A new 4-level project maturity ladder that defines project quality and encourages graduating from one level to the next.

A training and support program for contributors and maintainers.

A new project forge that creates new projects for the ecosystem.

These programs should be great additions to the .NET ecosystem and solve challenges that need to be addressed. We’re interesting in helping each of these programs. For the project forge, in particular, we have at least one lab project that we’d be happy to donate to the Foundation as significant starter code for a new project, run by new maintainers.

The .NET Foundation Technical Action Group has set an ambitious plan to improve the .NET ecosystem, with these three new programs, and the guidance and structure that go along with them. We will do our part in supporting these programs and the Technical Actions Group. We’re looking forward to seeing these programs develop in our larger ecosystem.