Purpose

This guide helps podlings apply ASF governance principles as they progress along the Incubation path. It explains what governance looks like on a day-to-day basis and at key milestones.

Note: This path assumes a “typical” podling. Not all projects are the same, and timelines or practices may vary for legitimate reasons.

Core Principles in Practice

  • Community over Code — Decisions are made in the open, with consensus, not dictated by a single company or contributor.
  • Meritocracy — Recognize contributors by granting them more responsibility over time.
  • Transparency — Use the mailing lists for decision-making. Avoid private or closed-door decisions.
  • Independence — Ensure the project can stand on its own, not reliant on one vendor, employer, or sponsor.

Early Stage (0–3 months)

  • Establish the dev@ list as the primary governance forum.
  • PPMC formation: Mentors and initial committers form the Podling Project Management Committee (PPMC).
  • Decision making: Use the dev@ list for discussions and practice lazy consensus. Reserve formal [VOTE] threads for binding decisions (e.g., adding committers/PPMC members, graduation).
  • Mentor guidance: Mentors model transparent behavior (moving private discussions to dev@, reminding about process).

Growth Stage (3–12 months)

  • Committer growth: Add new committers based on merit and community trust. Run committer votes on the list.
  • PPMC expansion: Add active committers who demonstrate project stewardship.
  • Community diversity: Actively grow contributors from more than one company to avoid single-vendor dominance.
  • Release practice: Aim to produce the first ASF release by around 6 months, following ASF policy and requiring a community vote.
  • Reporting: Submit timely podling reports. Use reporting as an opportunity for the PPMC to reflect on progress, community health, and challenges - not just a checkbox for mentors. Reports are reviewed by the IPMC and are a key tool for oversight. They help podlings demonstrate progress, flag risks early, and get support from the wider Incubator community.
  • Governance habits: Document project decisions in the wiki or dev@ archives; use lazy consensus where appropriate.

Maturing Stage (12+ months)

  • Independence: Ensure that no single company dominates the PPMC or its committers.
  • Self-governance: PPMC members assume oversight, not just mentorship. They start initiating reports, votes, and proposals without prompting.
  • Mentor step-back: At this stage, mentors should act mainly as advisors. The PPMC should lead discussions, community growth, votes, and reporting.
  • Graduation readiness: Demonstrate:
    • Sustainable, diverse community
    • Regular ASF releases
    • Mailing list as the decision centre
    • PPMC actively governing, mentors guiding lightly

Common Governance Pitfalls

  • Private channels: Making binding decisions on Slack, WeChat, or company email.
  • Single vendor control: Committers or PPMC stacked from one employer.
  • Rubber-stamping mentors: Relying on mentors for all votes and decisions.
  • Opaque releases: Failing to involve the community or document release votes.

Checklist at Each Milestone

These checkpoints reflect a typical podling journey. Timelines and milestones may vary for legitimate reasons, and that’s acceptable as long as progress toward ASF governance is visible.

  • 3 months: Is discussion happening on dev@? Has the PPMC formed?
  • 6 months: Has the podling produced its first ASF release? Have we added a new committer and run a committer vote?
  • 12 months: Have we expanded the PPMC? Are we practicing self-governance with minimal mentor prompting?
  • Before graduation: Are we self-governing, diverse, transparent, and ASF-compliant? Has the community prepared a graduation resolution and built consensus around it?

Reflection Questions

  • Are decisions visible on the mailing list?
  • Does the PPMC lead governance or just follow mentors?
  • Are contributors recognized promptly through committership?
  • Could the project survive if the original sponsor company stepped back?

Further Reading

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