Note: This blog post was created by the StackSpot Prompt Engineering team with the support of AI tools. This content underwent rigorous review for technical accuracy, content relevance, and well-written quality before its publication. Enjoy the read!
In this blog post, you’ll learn what inner source is and how this strategy is crucial to the adoption and success of using StackSpot.
First, what is inner source?
Extracted directly from Wikipedia, we have the following definition:
“Inner Source is the use of best practices from open-source software development and the establishment of an open-source-like culture within organizations to develop their non-open-source and/or proprietary software. The term was coined by Tim O’Reilly in 2000 in his column”
Essentially, organizations employ open source project practices to foster internal collaboration. This is a practice that makes a lot of sense, as successful open source projects have been in the market for many years, sustained through intense collaboration among numerous individuals, some of whom may have never met in person.
Even with this collaboration occurring massively remotely and involving people who often have never met, open source projects manage to maintain a high standard of quality.
The idea is to draw inspiration from this model so that StackSpot can make an even more significant difference within the company.
The importance of collaboration from various teams for maximizing StackSpot’s utility
At the heart of StackSpot, we have application and infrastructure plugins. As we’ve previously discussed in another post (link here), plugins are the foundational constructs that enable us to establish and distribute standards within the company. These standards could encompass project creation guidelines, implementation of specific features, or provisioning of cloud resources, among others.
Upon the introduction of StackSpot to an organization, collaborative efforts between our team and typically the partner company’s platform team (or client team) take place. These efforts involve analyzing guidelines, making decisions on what warrants materialization as plugins to expedite the standardization process, and subsequently building these plugins.
However, as the needs of teams evolve, today’s guidelines must remain open to modifications that can accelerate the development of necessary software for business acceleration. But who should be responsible for this ongoing analysis of the current state to ensure its continued relevance?
Undoubtedly, a substantial portion of this responsibility can be delegated to the engineering platform team. Similar to how a core team is primarily responsible for the evolution of an open source project, a project open source is open and receptive to contributions from anyone/any company using it in their daily operations. This is where Inner Source comes into play!
The StackSpot team within our client’s organizations should encourage the teams directly working on products (stream-aligned teams) to continually assess whether the existing plugins have been effective in expediting their work.
Furthermore, these teams should be motivated to build plugins that work well for their workspaces and, in conclusion, to submit such plugins for general use within the company if the problem they address is more cross-functional.
Ensuring quality: Incorporating Plugins into StackSpot’s standard repository
Once teams start building plugins to meet their specific needs, the suggestion to include such plugins in StackSpot’s standard repository may naturally arise. How can we ensure their quality? There are scenarios involving their use within a specific context, as well as their availability across the entire organization. Are they truly aligning with the directions outlined in the company’s guidelines?
Similar to practices in open source projects, establishing a “code review” process can be implemented for accepting and making plugins available throughout the company. In one of our clients, a committee was formed to discuss the inclusion of new studios and plugins developed by the company’s communities.
Consequently, the inclusion of new studios and their plugins becomes subject to the governance standards set forth by the company.
Conclusion
We believe that an Inner Source strategy is highly crucial for StackSpot to continue making an increasing impact on the daily operations of the teams acting as internal clients of the platform within partner companies.
The feedback and collaboration from these teams enhance the plugins’ robustness and effectiveness, making a growing difference in their everyday activities.
Unlock the speed and security of developing with StackSpot!
As experienced software engineers, we understand that you seek to provide efficient and standardized solutions that allow your team to focus on solving business problems, not on assembling the necessary infrastructure to tackle these issues. We recognize that time is precious and efficiency is vital. That’s why we’ve developed StackSpot, our Enterprise Developer Platform designed specifically for professionals like you.
How about a hands-on test of StackSpot, completely adapted to your company’s unique context and challenges? Our goal is to demonstrate how our platform can not only simplify the distribution of guidelines but also make their application easier, saving you time and boosting your team’s productivity.
Book a demo now! We’re eager to get to know you and your challenges. Let’s transform the landscape of your software engineering together with StackSpot.
