Chances are you have heard or read something about InnerSource by now, but just knowing about InnerSource and knowing what InnerSource is can be harder to identify. In fact, our experience has shown that when asking people to explain what InnerSource is, we get many different answers, and some of these different mentalities come from leaders within the same organization.
Problem: Everyone seems to have a slightly different idea of what InnerSource is. Having a clear definition within the same organization is vital to adopting an InnerSource culture within your organization.
Think of this as a maze. Without a clear understanding and correct direction, it's easy for team members to get lost in their own direction of where to go.
?> Tip Becoming an “Open Source Enterprise” is more than code - it’s adopting the practices that make open source thrive.
Purpose: To see the similarities and differences in definition (Time: ~10 minutes)
- Separate into small groups of 2 or 3
- 5 minutes to define as a group what your definition of InnerSource is
- 5 minutes to talk about our definitions collectively
Questions:
- What similarities are there?
- What differences do we have?
- Was it difficult defining InnerSource within your team because of different views?
- Is there a right answer?