Dawn Foster
Co-Host of CHAOSScast
Dr. Dawn Foster works as the Director of Data Science for CHAOSS where she is also a board member / maintainer. She is co-chair of CNCF TAG Contributor Strategy and an OpenUK board member. She has 20+ years of experience at companies like VMware and Intel with expertise in community, strategy, governance, metrics, and more. She has spoken at over 100 industry events and has a BS in computer science, an MBA, and a PhD. In her spare time she enjoys reading science fiction, running, and traveling.
Dawn Foster has hosted 27 Episodes.
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Episode 99: Guest Episode - Re-licensing, forks, and community impact with Data in the Hallway
12 December 2024 | 36 mins 41 secs
We’re taking a break this week so we’re very pleased to share instead an episode from our friends over at Data in the Hallway, hosted by Ray Paik and co-hosted by Daniël van Eeden. Their podcast dives deep into the fascinating world of database technology, open source innovation, and the incredible stories shaping global tech communities.
In this episode, Ray and Daniël sit down with Dawn Foster, Director of Data Science at the CHAOSS Project, to explore the re-licensing of major open source projects—a significant trend over the past decade. Together, they unpack the ripple effects this has on community health, share advice for developers navigating Contributor License Agreements, and examine the financial and business implications of re-licensing. They also reflect on whether this trend is likely to continue in the years ahead.
Throughout the episode, they reference some excellent resources, including case-study data from CHAOSS, guides on open source organizational dynamics, and financial analyses that add depth to the discussion. Links to these resources are in the show notes if you want to explore further.
If you enjoy this conversation, be sure to check out more episodes of Data in the Hallway, You can find them on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Now, let’s dive into this fascinating discussion with Dawn Foster. I hope you enjoy it!
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Episode 97: Practitioner Guides: #4 Security
14 November 2024 | 31 mins 25 secs
In this episode of CHAOSScast, Harmony Elendu hosts a discussion with Emily Fox from Red Hat and Dawn Foster, the Director of Data Science at CHAOSS. Today, they explore the new Security Practitioner Guide created to help maintainers, who may lack deep security backgrounds, get started with essential security practices. Emily and Dawn highlight actionable steps, key trends, and simplifications to adopt in maintaining a secure project. They also touch on challenges like vulnerability reporting and the importance of consistent monitoring and updating. Additionally, the guide's flexibility, allowing customization and improvement over time, and the significance of community support are emphasized. Press download now to hear more!
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Episode 93: Guest Episode - Sustain meets CHAOSScast to talk about Practitioner Guides
19 September 2024 | 40 mins 12 secs
In this episode of CHAOSScast, it’s a crossover with Sustain, host Richard Littauer is joined by three guests, Dawn Foster, Elizabeth Barron, and Luis Cañas Diaz, to discuss the CHAOSS Project's recent development of Practitioner Guides. The show delves into the purpose of these guides, which are designed to help open source projects interpret and utilize metrics to improve community health and sustainability. The guests explain the significance of metrics in open source projects, the challenges of defining and making them accessible, and how the guides can benefit different types of projects, from large corporations to individual developers. Topics covered include the background and format of the guides, specifics on the metrics discussed, and the practical applications and improvements these guides aim to facilitate. Go ahead and download this episode now!
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Episode 89: Practitioner Guides: #3 Organizational Participation
25 July 2024 | 32 mins 25 secs
In this episode of CHAOSSCast, host Alice Sowerby is joined by panelists Dawn Foster, Elizabeth Barron, and Harmony Elendu, to discuss the importance and complexities of organizational participation in open source projects. They delve into how the CHAOSS Practitioner Guides help users make sense of CHAOSS metrics and provide insights on improving open source project health. The conversation covers the significance of diverse organizational participation, the role of community managers, and the challenges of accurately measuring organizational contributions. Additionally, they highlight tools like Augur and Grimoire Lab that aid in data collection and analysis as well as offer practical advice for both individuals and companies to foster healthier, more inclusive open source communities. Press download now to hear more!
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Episode 88: Practitioner Guides: #2 Contributor Sustainability
11 July 2024 | 33 mins 23 secs
In this episode of CHAOSSScast, host Alice Sowerby, along with Dawn Foster and Elizabeth Barron, discuss measuring and improving open source community health through contributor sustainability. The conversation highlights the importance of documentation, the balance of contributor roles, and proactive community building. They share insights and examples on how projects can avoid single points of failure, the significance of onboarding processes, and the impact of asking for help. The discussion also underscores the human aspects of open source contributions and provides practical strategies for long-term project viability. Press download now to hear more!
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Episode 86: The Turing Institute: Using AI ethically with the power of Open Source
13 June 2024 | 44 mins 51 secs
In this episode of CHAOSScast, co-hosts Alice Sowerby and Dawn Foster welcome guests Aida Mehonic, Malvika Sharan, and Kirstie Whittaker from The Alan Turing Institute. The discussion begins with delving into the Institute's strategic vision, focused on using data science and AI to address global challenges in environment, health, and security. They examine the role of open source contributions in enhancing the ethical, accessible, and impactful uses of AI. The episode highlights various projects, such as The Turing Way, and the importance of community building, inclusive research practices, and the ethical considerations of AI. They also discuss the integration of CHAOSS metrics in their work and explore future projects and initiatives at The Alan Turing Institute. Press download now to hear more!
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Episode 85: Introducing CHAOSS Practitioner Guides: #1 Responsiveness
30 May 2024 | 31 mins 51 secs
In this episode of CHAOSScast, host Alice Sowerby is joined with Dawn Foster and special guest, Luis Cañas-Díaz from Bitergia. Today, they delve into the Practitioner Guide series created by CHAOSS, particularly focusing on the Responsiveness Guide authored by Dawn. The conversation highlights the challenges people face in interpreting data and metrics within their projects and how the guides aim to provide actionable insights for improvement. Additionally, they touch on the potential risks of misinterpreting metrics and stress the importance of context and direct involvement from project teams to effectively address responsiveness issues. The episode also covers future directions for the guide series and ways the community can contribute and provide feedback. Press download to hear more!
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Episode 84: Community Viability - how Verizon thinks about OSS risk
16 May 2024 | 34 mins 46 secs
In this episode of CHAOSScast, Dawn Foster, Matt Germonprez, Alice Sowerby, and guest Gary White, Principal Engineer at Verizon’s OSPO office, delve into the world of viability metrics models developed for assessing the risks associated with using open source software components. Gary explains the creation process of these models, their application within Verizon for software evaluation, and the significance of engaging with the open source community to enhance project viability. The conversations also explore the challenges and considerations in deploying these metrics within organizations, emphasizing the blend of policy enforcement and cultural influence to manage open source software dependencies effectively. Press download now to hear more!
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Episode 83: Metrics for Organizational and Digital Infrastructure with Edward Vielmetti
2 May 2024 | 45 mins 59 secs
In this episode of CHAOSScast, Georg and Dawn chat with guest Edward Vielmetti, Developer Partner Manager at Equinix, where he oversees the Open Source Partner Program. Today, they delve into the significance of measuring open source community health using CHAOSS metrics. Edward discusses the importance of providing infrastructure support to open source projects and how Equinix uses CHAOSS metrics to evaluate project health and manage resources efficiently. The discussion also covers the challenges of maintaining open source project health, including governance, code quality, and resources, with insights into predictive metrics and the impact of corporate involvement in open source communities.
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Episode 82: The AI Conundrum: Implications for OSPOs
25 April 2024 | 39 mins 16 secs
In this episode of CHAOSScast, host Dawn Foster brings together Matt Germonprez, Brian Proffitt, and Ashley Wolf to discuss the implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs), including policy considerations, the potential for AI-driven contributions to create workload for maintainers, and the quality of contributions. They also touch on the use of AI internally within companies versus contributing back to the open source community, the importance of distinguishing between human and AI contributions, and the potential benefits and challenges AI introduces to open source project health and community metrics. The conversation strikes a balance between optimism for AI’s benefits and caution for its governance, leaving us to ponder the future of open source in an AI-integrated world.
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Episode 81: Managing Federal CHAOSS at CMS.gov
12 March 2024 | 40 mins 25 secs
On today’s episode of CHAOSScast, we focus on the experiences and initiatives of the Open Source Program Office at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Host Dawn Foster is joined by Sean Goggins along with guests, Remy DeCausemaker, Natalia Luzuriaga, Isaac Milarsky, and Aayat Ali, all from various backgrounds within the CMS, who share insights into their efforts in maintaining and promoting an open source culture within federal services. Key discussion points include the launch of the CMS’s first open source program office, the development of a maturity model framework to evaluate open source projects, the creation of tools such as Repo Scaffolder and Duplifier to support open source practices, and efforts towards open source software security. This episode emphasizes the distinct aspects of opens source work in government settings compared to the private sector and highlights upcoming presentations at conferences. Download this episode now to hear more!
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Episode 79: The Mechanics of CHAOSS: A Deep Dive into Open Source Community Health Analytics
21 February 2024 | 1 hr 1 min
In this collaboration between the CHAOSS Cast and Mechanical Ink podcasts, hosts Dawn Foster and Schalk Neethling are joined by guests Daniel Izquierdo and Sean Goggins to discuss open source community health metrics.
The focus is on providing an overview of two projects under the CHAOSS (Community Health Analytics for Open Source Software) umbrella - GrimoireLab and Augur. These open source tools gather data from diverse sources and analyze it to provide insights into open-source community health.