# Team-Defined Contribution Metrics Beat One Fixed Yardstick ## Claim Open-source contribution recognition works better when each team defines what counts for its own work than when one central framework ranks every team against the same fixed thresholds. <!-- atomicity: 1 idea ✓ --> ## Scope & conditions - Holds when teams do genuinely different kinds of work and the goal is recognition, not a single comparable health metric. - Breaks down when the project needs one project-wide number (e.g., for funding or governance reporting) that a fragmented, per-team definition can't produce. - Doesn't establish which specific ladder design is best — only that team-level customization beats a single central yardstick for the recognition use case. ## Evidence The WordPress Contributor Dashboard's first major post-pilot update replaced a single measurement framework with per-Make-team customizable "ladders," on the stated rationale that "what counts as contribution differs by team" — a translation approved matters to Polyglots, engagement matters to Support — with the resulting configuration shareable via URL rather than centrally imposed. ## Links - [[DevRel MOC]] — recognition that fits the work rather than flattening it into one measure - [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/A Contribution Pipeline Needs a Defined Next Step After Training]] — because applies-in; a team-specific ladder is itself a candidate "defined next step" a graduate can be routed toward. - [[3. Resources/Permanent Notes/Stewardship Invests in Contributor Capacity Not Just Cash]] — because extends; building measurement infrastructure customized per team is an investment in contributor capacity, not a funding line item. - [[3. Resources/MOCs/Open Source Governance MOC]] — because applies-in; this is a live governance decision about who gets to define "contribution." ## Tests / falsifiers - Compare contributor retention or satisfaction in teams that adopt a customized ladder against teams that keep the prior one-size-fits-all metric. - Watch whether per-team ladders fragment into incomparable, gameable definitions that undermine project-wide reporting — that outcome would weaken the claim's practical value even if teams prefer it. ## Maintenance - Last tended: 2026-08-16 - Next review: 2026-11-16 ## Source - [[3. Resources/Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/WordPress Contributor Dashboard Gets Customizable Ladders for Make Teams in First Major Update Since Pilot Launch]] — reports the shift to team-customizable contribution ladders.