Driving Open Source Success through Product Management

Open-source projects often struggle to maximize their impact due to challenges in coordination, user alignment, and resource management. This talk argues for the adoption of a product management approach in open-source projects to address these challenges. Drawing from my experience at HOTOSM (Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team), I will demonstrate how strategic product management can transform open-source initiatives, making them more user-centric, organized, and sustainable.

Outline

Highlight common challenges in open-source projects: lack of direction, inconsistent quality, and difficulty engaging users and contributors.

Present the goal of adopting a product management approach to overcome these challenges.

Define the role of product management and its core principles.

Discuss the specific issues in open-source projects that a product management approach can address, such as fragmented development efforts and misaligned priorities.

Explain how adopting product management practices can bring structure, focus, and efficiency to open-source projects.

Target Audience

Open-source project maintainers and contributors.

Product managers and developers interested in open-source.

Community managers and coordinators.

Anyone interested in the intersection of product management and open-source.