CHAOSScast

Episode 125: A very CHAOTIC 2025

11 December 2025  |  51 mins 27 secs

CHAOSScast – Episode 125

In this final episode of the year from CHAOSScast, hosts Alice Sowerby and Harmony Elendu welcome members of the CHAOSS Board, Sean Goggins, Anita Ihuman, Georg Link, and Elizabeth Barron, for an in-depth discussion on the project's developments and future. They share their reflections on key events and trends in the open-source community over 2025. Topics include the impact of AI on open source, shifts in funding, community engagement, and the importance of psychological safety. The panelists also spotlight various CHAOSS working groups, including education, design, and technical writing, while sharing their wishes for the CHAOSS Project in 2026. Press download now!

Episode 124: Practitioner Guides: #7 Diverse Leadership

27 November 2025  |  39 mins 58 secs

CHAOSScast – Episode 124

This episode of CHAOSScast kicks off a new Practitioner Guide series focused on “Building Diverse Leadership” in open source communities. Harmony Elendu hosts with co-host Georg Link and guests Dawn Foster and Peculiar Umeh, exploring why diverse leadership matters, how CHAOSS’ practitioner guides turn “walls of metrics” into practical action, and how three specific metrics: Board/Council Diversity, Sponsorship, and Inclusive Leadership, can help projects become more welcoming, representative, and sustainable. Hit download now to hear more!

Episode 123: Practitioner Guides: #6 Sunsetting an Open Source Project

13 November 2025  |  28 mins 51 secs

CHAOSScast – Episode 123
This episode of the CHAOSScast features hosts Harmony Elendu and Alice Sowerby, along with guests Stefka Dimitrova and Dawn Foster, discussing the process of sunsetting open source projects. Dawn and Stefka share their extensive experiences and the importance of managing the lifecycle of open source projects responsibly. They delve into the specifics of the 'Getting Started with Sunsetting an Open Source Project' guide from Dawn's series of practitioner guides, which aim to help practitioners, not just experts, interpret data and improve their project health. Key topics include identifying inactive projects, the responsible steps for sunsetting, and the crucial role of communication within the community. The episode also touches upon metrics to determine project activity and archive responsibly, highlighting that the process goes beyond simply pressing an 'archive' button. Hit download now to hear more!

Episode 122: Meet the 2025 CHAOTICS of the month!

30 October 2025  |  37 mins 58 secs

CHAOSScast – Episode 122
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In this episode of CHAOSScast, host Georg and co-host Alice introduce a special feature showcasing the “CHAOTICS of the Month” who are members recognized for their exceptional contributions to the CHAOSS open source community. Today, they chat with David Lippert, Victoria Ottah, and Cali Dolfi. David Lippert, Director of the Open Source Program Office at George Washington University, discusses his journey into academia and open source with a focus on public interest technology. Victoria Otta, a UX designer and accessibility advocate, shares her experiences and contributions to the CHAOSS community, particularly in accessibility auditing and inclusion of people with disabilities in open source. Cali Dolfi, a senior data scientist at Red Hat, talks about her work in community data analysis and the Data Science Working Group. Hit download now to hear more!

Episode 120: Practitioner Guides: #5 Demonstrating Organizational Value

2 October 2025  |  23 mins 22 secs

In this episode of CHAOSScast, Harmony Elendu hosts a discussion with Dawn Foster and Bob Killen to discuss their extensive experience in open source and detail the motivations behind the creation of the CHAOSS Practitioner Guides. These guides aim to help practitioners navigate the overwhelming amount of data related to open source projects and understand how to improve project health and sustainability. The discussion covers strategies for communicating the business value of open source efforts to leadership, framing contributions in a way that resonates with organizational priorities, and prioritizing investments in critical projects. Press download now!

Episode 112: Community health metrics and open infrastructure decision making – with Chrys Wu, Invest in Open Infrastructure

12 June 2025  |  40 mins 31 secs

In this episode of CHAOSScast, host Georg Link, along with Nicole Huesman and Ruth Ikegah, welcome guest Chrys Wu to discuss the findings from the “State of Open Infrastructure” report by Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI). The episode dives into how community health frameworks shape open infrastructure decisions, highlighting various frameworks like CHAOSS metrics, the FOREST framework, and POSI. Chrys talks about the Infra Finder tool and the importance of trust in decision-making for open infrastructure. The conversation also touches on metrics for understanding community engagement, the challenges of resource allocation, and the impact of open infrastructure on research ecosystems. Press download now to find out more!

Episode 111: Introducing the CHAOSS Education Project

29 May 2025  |  30 mins 3 secs

In this episode of the CHAOSScast, host Harmony leads a discussion featuring panelists Dawn Foster, Peculiar Umeh, Aishat Muhammed, and Elizabeth Barron, all of whom are involved in the CHAOSS Education Project. They discuss their roles within the CHAOSS Project and introduce the CHAOSS Education Project, which aims to create accessible learning resources for open source contributors at various experience levels. They cover the project's categories, share their personal contributions, personal growth, the impact on the community, future plans for sustainability and expansion, and how you can contribute to the project. Hit download now to hear more!

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!

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!

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!