How is consensus and accountability achieved in large software development projects?

Question

I'm studying how distributed software is managed (Linux, Wikipedia etc) and am trying to figure out if there is any pattern for consensus and accountability.

Ideally I could visualize the inputs and outputs of the management of the solution.

I'm sure this exists, and is likely more involved than "use Agile" or perhaps it's not and I have more learning to do.

Question

• Is there any documentation or approach that focuses on the higher level management of a distributed software project?

• If "git" (or any other tooling) provides this, is there a visual that describes the input and output flow of decision making, checks and balances, and trust?

Justification

I'm about to open source some security software and want to be ready to handle the feedback, and plan for another group or entity to take it over... essentially a succession plan.

Ideally this would involve some form of checks-and-balances, but what exactly needs to be checked or balanced?

• ... Who can I delegate that to?

• ... how?

Answer 1

Open source project management is essentially about community building

and plan for another group or entity to take it over... essentially a succession plan.

First of all you need to attract talented and motivated people to take an interest in your project, participate and contribute. Your succession plan can eventually come out of this pool of resources. Here is an excellent presentation on How to manage an open source project by Juanjo Bazán that covers this topic well. Essentially:

• Have a vision and articulate it

• Build a roadmap

• Seek feedback

• Make communication easy

Ideally this would involve some form of checks-and-balances, but what exactly needs to be checked or balanced?

This article What I learned managing an open source CMS project by Brian Hyder describes the checks and balances in some detail.

Essentially you need to have a Contributor Code of Conduct and enforce it rigorously to keep rogue coders in check.