The DevRel Foundation  ## Metadata - Author: [[Community Pulse]] - Full Title: The DevRel Foundation - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/55ae48b4-aa50-4285-9f96-cfa495bd2afc ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **DevRel Foundation's Purpose** - The DevRel Foundation seeks to address DevRel's unique challenges, like defining the role and measuring impact. - It aims to be a nonpartisan hub for discussions and a resource for defining the profession and its practices. Transcript: Wesley Faulkner And the involvement with the Linux Foundation happened, like I think, around the February timeframe. And so the thought is that there are certain types of challenges that are unique to people in DevRel. Defining what we do is one of them that I think is something that people are familiar with, but others that have been lingering around about how do you measure DevRel and like adequately, Like how do you plan for the and how do you roll out a developer relations program? Those are kind of like the broad strokes of it. So the thought of the DevRel Foundation is to be a nonpartisan home for these types of discussions. And we are currently set up as the steering committee as people who are trying to facilitate those conversations, give structure and processing of how to, what timeline we should have These conversations and be helped like with the being a home to people to find this information once we have it all created and to be a repository for a lot of existing knowledge, but also Allow the connection tissue to kind of create new knowledge that is not there right now. ([Time 0:01:31](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c8eddd9c-e20c-4293-b0e4-849625564625)) - **DevRel Foundation Goals** - The DevRel Foundation aims to address challenges specific to DevRel professionals. - These include defining the DevRel role, measuring its impact, and planning and implementing successful DevRel programs. Transcript: Wesley Faulkner And so the thought is that there are certain types of challenges that are unique to people in DevRel. Defining what we do is one of them that I think is something that people are familiar with, but others that have been lingering around about how do you measure DevRel and like adequately, Like how do you plan for the and how do you roll out a developer relations program? ([Time 0:01:36](https://share.snipd.com/snip/dbc1e09b-aa37-4ad7-ad26-6e42a4b88837)) - Here are five quotes from the podcast episode that highlight key aspects of the DevRel Foundation: > This is a participative activity; this is a...compendium of knowledge about what we do and put that so that when people reference it, they can easily say, this is the way it works. > > — **PJ Hagerty** > The DevRel Foundation is to be a nonpartisan home for these types of discussions. > > — **Wesley Faulkner** > How do we choose which ones that we're going to help move forward? > > — **Wesley Faulkner** > There's different verticals. Like there's regulated industries like FinTech. There are different areas like nonprofit work and open source software as opposed to closed source software. > > — **Wesley Faulkner** > It's part of the Linux Foundation because it is one that does already have a reputation. > > — **Wesley Faulkner** Transcript: Wesley Faulkner Those are kind of like the broad strokes of it. So the thought of the DevRel Foundation is to be a nonpartisan home for these types of discussions. And we are currently set up as the steering committee as people who are trying to facilitate those conversations, give structure and processing of how to, what timeline we should have These conversations and be helped like with the being a home to people to find this information once we have it all created and to be a repository for a lot of existing knowledge, but also Allow the connection tissue to kind of create new knowledge that is not there right now. So that's kind of like the whole arc of it. Depending on when you're listening to this podcast, we are currently enrolling people to take on and champion these specific areas of topics. So we're looking for managers to say that here are the lists that we've aggregated from the community of the challenges. And we're looking for managers to say, like, I want to champion that and run it to ground to make sure that we actually have things to find to help us all as dev role practitioners. PJ Hagerty Right. And I kind of want to, you know, I kind of want to, to zero, cause I think that some people, uh, I was in the initial meeting kickoff thing that happened back in June and there was a concern And it was kind of like, oh, so this is a town hall, not really a feedback thing, but more of a town hall where we'll come and tell you what we think is good. And you can come and tell tell us if you don't think it's good but what you're what it really is is this is a part this is a participative activity this is uh i mean you're not everyone's going To come in and be managers not everybody wants to and that's okay but the idea is really behind like let's let's put together a compendium of knowledge about what we do and put that so that When people reference it, they can easily say, this is the way it works. It's a constantly moving organic body. It's not just, there's, it's similar to software and there is no done on this. Would that, do you think that's, that's accurate? Wesley Faulkner Yeah. I think that that initial, I was on that initial preview call as well. And that session, I think, raised a lot of awareness about how developed the thought was of where things were going to go and how open to input the foundation was to the community and letting The community shape the direction and the focus of the foundation. And I think to its credit, the foundation has taken a lot of that into heart. And I think that's when I joined actually because of that call or like right after that call. And a lot of the work that I've done, at least on the initial side, was finding a way to make sure that the community's voice is heard. And once we get all of this feedback, how do we actually action it? Because it feels like if you think about the possibilities, the developer relations, there's just so much out there. How do we choose which ones that we're going to help move forward? And so I devised or helped with the help of the rest of the people in the steering committee and other feedback from people like you, PJ, about how do we address the needs of the community In a way that doesn't feel exclusionary. Exclusatory? Exclusionary? PJ Hagerty Yeah, I think that's the word. Exclusionary is the word you're looking for. Exclusionary. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Wesley Faulkner And, and also how do we actually do product, be productive to actually move forward instead of having constant discussions all the time? And where do we actually make sure that it was the right time to do action? Jason Hand On a lot of our shows, a lot of our episodes, we generally take a stance on when it comes to implementing certain things that it just kind of depends on the situation of the organization, The team, the objectives of the org that they're in. There's always just like so many dependencies and variables that go into an implementation of things. To take a stance on how certain aspects or certain elements of developer relations has found success, I'm wondering if there's plans or if there's been any discussion on including Lots of different implementation scenarios rather than trying to be one single source of truth. Because I feel like that's probably going to be some pushback and going to be some feedback that maybe we hear from this type of organization or foundation, I guess, of what goals do we Have about putting into concrete terms what developer relations is or isn't when we know that there's just so many ways to do it. You know, startups are going to do it one way. Enterprise is going to do it a different one part of the world is going to do it in one way versus other. So anyway, just curious what your thoughts are on that. Yeah. Wesley Faulkner Yeah. There's different verticals. Like there's regulated industries like FinTech. There are different areas like nonprofit work and open source software as opposed to closed source software. Then there is developer first and then there's developer plus. Then you mentioned different languages, but there's also different geos and there's also different access to technologies like in developing like parts of the developing world Where steady connected electricity and internet is not something that's taken for granted. So there's many different facets. And so the answer is we are trying to be as inclusive as possible by making sure that people have the opportunity to put forth their specific concern. At the same time, we are requiring that as groups are formed around these topics, that there's at least three managers to each of these topics to make sure that there's not one perspective That's kind of running the show. And then each of these topics, the managers need to recruit at least eight participants. This is to increase the diversity in the different ways that people see things and to make sure that these edge cases or main cases are incorporated into the final result. And last but not least, this is supposed to be an iterative process. So whatever the group creates, it will be posted to GitHub. And everyone and anyone can put in pull requests so that their voices are heard and their perspectives are also taken into account. PJ Hagerty I mean, you're saying all this. And for those of you who are listening to the audio and saying, wow, Wesley really has this down. Wesley ([Time 0:02:02](https://share.snipd.com/snip/967b8da8-9e37-41d8-9299-6988750ba430)) - **Participative Nature of the Foundation** - The DevRel Foundation is a participative effort, not just a feedback mechanism. - It aims to build a compendium of DevRel knowledge, a constantly evolving resource. Transcript: PJ Hagerty Right. And I kind of want to, you know, I kind of want to, to zero, cause I think that some people, uh, I was in the initial meeting kickoff thing that happened back in June and there was a concern And it was kind of like, oh, so this is a town hall, not really a feedback thing, but more of a town hall where we'll come and tell you what we think is good. And you can come and tell tell us if you don't think it's good but what you're what it really is is this is a part this is a participative activity this is uh i mean you're not everyone's going To come in and be managers not everybody wants to and that's okay but the idea is really behind like let's let's put together a compendium of knowledge about what we do and put that so that When people reference it, they can easily say, this is the way it works. It's a constantly moving organic body. It's not just, there's, it's similar to software and there is no done on this. Would that, do you think that's, that's accurate? ([Time 0:03:20](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4355d507-41a1-4632-86da-42b681d9890a)) - **Ensuring Inclusivity** - To ensure inclusivity, the foundation requires diverse perspectives in topic groups. - Each group needs at least three managers and eight participants to capture various viewpoints. Transcript: Wesley Faulkner Yeah. There's different verticals. Like there's regulated industries like FinTech. There are different areas like nonprofit work and open source software as opposed to closed source software. Then there is developer first and then there's developer plus. Then you mentioned different languages, but there's also different geos and there's also different access to technologies like in developing like parts of the developing world Where steady connected electricity and internet is not something that's taken for granted. So there's many different facets. And so the answer is we are trying to be as inclusive as possible by making sure that people have the opportunity to put forth their specific concern. At the same time, we are requiring that as groups are formed around these topics, that there's at least three managers to each of these topics to make sure that there's not one perspective That's kind of running the show. And then each of these topics, the managers need to recruit at least eight participants. This is to increase the diversity in the different ways that people see things and to make sure that these edge cases or main cases are incorporated into the final result. ([Time 0:07:14](https://share.snipd.com/snip/34ac1480-d8b0-483b-a1cf-dac84336935c)) - **DevRel Foundation's Unique Focus** - The DevRel Foundation is different from other Linux Foundation projects like Linux or Git. - It focuses on governance and documentation, not code or product development. Transcript: Wesley Faulkner I got to say that there's something that I have to say about the Linux Foundation in general, is that Linux Foundation is an umbrella of other open source projects. So Linux itself is a Linux Foundation project. Git is a Linux foundation project. And there's several other. Valky is also big and new and was just launched at the open source summit in September. So there... PJ Hagerty Don't forget about that dang Kubernetes that people keep talking about. The kids are all into the Kubernetes. Wesley Faulkner Yep, CNCF is underneath. Yeah. The CNCF is under the Linux Foundation. So those projects that you know and love have come under that same umbrella. But I have to say the DevRel Foundation is different than any of those or in all of the other projects. Because that this feels more of a, I don't know, governance body or like a list of documents and not necessarily focused on code and making a product from that standpoint, which I think Is a little bit different. ([Time 0:11:45](https://share.snipd.com/snip/555ae8c2-9140-4728-be9f-a6f436cce8f8)) - **Early Discussions and Logistical Support** - Wesley and PJ discussed creating a DevRel governance document two and a half years ago. - The Linux Foundation's logistical support helps address the challenge of inclusivity and mindshare. Transcript: PJ Hagerty Well, I think it's interesting you mentioned that because I know that organically around, like I had been talking for a couple of years with people. I mean, Wesley, you and I had a conversation that I think is now like two and a half years ago about putting together some sort of governance document, some sort of something to say, this Is DevRel. This is the way it worked. This is, you know, and not being prescriptive, but at the same time, giving some sort of guideline to what this all means. And I think that like, you know, while some people might be like the Linux Foundation, eyebrows raised, what's going on here? At the same time, I think without having that logistical support, if not the organizational support, this may never have come off because so many people were working in so many small Working groups, but not really getting anywhere because they couldn't figure out that logistical component. Like, how do we do this and not exclude people? How do we do this and ensure that we have the good mindshare and the diverse mindshare that we need to actually share this information? These are questions that luckily ([Time 0:15:19](https://share.snipd.com/snip/7f0c2a04-f47e-4602-8ea7-8f1161e4fb92)) - **Centralized Definition for Hiring** - A clear definition of DevRel can help hiring managers understand the role better. - This can lead to more accurate job descriptions and better matches between candidates and positions. Transcript: PJ Hagerty Yeah, there's that centralization concept of maybe if we can define and say, this is what DevRel looks like, then maybe the hiring managers and the people at LinkedIn and Indeed and What have you. Is Monster.com still a thing? I don't think Monster.com is still a thing. I'm going to look at it. Definitely, as soon as we're done here, I'm looking that up. But maybe the people who are in charge of all this hiring and doing all these things, maybe they can finally have a good definition to understand that maybe you're not looking for a developer Advocate or a developer relations specialist. Maybe you're actually looking for someone in marketing. Maybe you're actually looking for like a sales engineer who's technically minded, but there to speak to an onboard client. Maybe you're even looking for customer success. Because like you said, Jason, I've looked at a lot of these job descriptions, especially over that period that I was unemployed. And a lot of these people do not understand the questions that they're asking or that the positions they're describing are not developer relations positions. But the buzzwords here, so let's go with what we got. Yeah. Wesley Faulkner And also to be frank, these questions have been answered and probably it's been answered multiple, multiple times by different people. And everyone who's been in DevRel for a very long time can see and read these and say, that's actually valid. That's invalid because we have done it for so long. We have the eyes and we have that perception. Someone who's brand new may not have that ability to distinguish what is actually something that makes sense and what is something that is valid. So I think the DevRel Foundation will help those new people to be able to do some of that work for them. Not necessarily have to creating all this new documentation and resources, but aggregating some of the things that are out there that is really good, high quality work that we can help With bringing them into the fold and allowing people to use us as a central point to jump off and find these other resources. ([Time 0:18:47](https://share.snipd.com/snip/36adbd51-34b9-425a-9ebd-33aeee670067)) - **Staying Updated and Providing Input** - Stay updated on the DevRel Foundation's progress by checking the GitHub and monthly open calls. - Provide input by joining calls and talking to champions directly. Transcript: Wesley Faulkner One of the things that we're asking or requiring for all these groups that form is that they give at least a monthly update on one of our open calls and open meetings that we do every week. So if you want to stay abreast about the progress, take a look at our GitHub and look at what the projects we're working and fostering. ([Time 0:21:25](https://share.snipd.com/snip/08d92feb-a40e-44e8-a736-9133ad20b3e0))