Since 2009 I have been working on an open source project, the project is called Etherpad and it’s goal is to provide an open collaborative document editing platform. When I first “joined up” I thought I could just help by fixing bugs and writing guides about how to deploy the software but this role quickly evolved.

I found myself taking on various roles and I thought I should share how diverse open-source projects are and the skills required in the hope to encourage more people to get involved even if your background isn’t in programming or software development.

Community and awareness

Maintain the project website

Organize community events

Watch out for etherpad mentions on social networks and via web based alerts(Such as Google alerts)

Promote community awareness via social networks, video sharing websites.

Engage with new developers to encourage them to join the cause

Provide accomodation for community events

Create explanitory and tutorial videos

Establish relationships with competing projects

Ensure the project can recieve donations

Development

Provide anonymous usage statistics about software usage

Provide a framework for development focused discussions

Decide on the project goals and mission statement

Develop the project, programming and graphics design

Review code submissions

Test new code

Compliance

Ensure legal compliance

Organize conservancy membership