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Title

InnerSource Ambassadors

Patlet

When driving InnerSource adoption through a large, decentralized organization it is hard to understand and address the local challenges that come up in different departments and regions. Local volunteers, called InnerSource Ambassadors, provide localized support by promoting InnerSource principles and acting as a communication bridge between their teams and the ISPO.

Problem

The InnerSource Program Office (ISPO) cannot be everywhere at once within a large, decentralized organization. Without localized support, the ISPO struggles to understand and/or fill the unique challenges and needs of different departments or regions and cannot effectively promote InnerSource practices across the organization.

Story

In a multinational organization, the ISPO implemented InnerSource initiatives but noticed uneven adoption across departments. After appointing a local ambassador in one department, adoption rates improved as the ambassador tailored practices to the department's context and provided valuable feedback to the ISPO.

Context

  • The organization is large and has multiple independent departments.
  • The departments have separate, independent drivers of culture and workflow.
  • An ISPO has been established to drive InnerSource adoption.
  • Departmental leadership is supportive of InnerSource.
  • The ISPO is too small or disconnected to effectively influence change across all departments at the organization.
  • Employees with a passion for collaboration and InnerSource principles are present within the organization.

Forces

  • Geographical and organizational scale: The ISPO cannot physically or logistically engage with every department.
  • Communication barriers: Departments may have unique cultures and needs that are not immediately visible to the ISPO.
  • Workload balance: Ambassadors must fulfill this role alongside their primary responsibilities.
  • Trust and credibility: Ambassadors must be trusted by their teams and the ISPO.

Sketch (optional)

A diagram showing the ISPO at the center, with ambassadors positioned in various departments acting as bidirectional conduits of information and influence.

Solutions

  • Identify and recruit at least one volunteer ambassador from each department in the organization.
  • The ambassadors should be enthusiastic about InnerSource and ideally have experience with open source.
  • Multiple ambassadors may be needed if there isn't a single person that has visibility and influence across the department to effectively advocate for and support InnerSource everywhere. People in the department can help to identify if one ambassador is sufficient or if multiple are needed.
  • Ambassadors support and encourage InnerSource across the department while maintaining their primary organizational roles.
  • Strive to have departmental leadership support (and even assist in identifying) the ambassador.
  • Train ambassadors on InnerSource principles, tools, and the goals of the ISPO.
  • Establish clear expectations for ambassadors, including acting as a liaison, promoting InnerSource practices, and providing feedback to the ISPO.
  • Create incentives for the ambassors, e.g. making ambassador work part of the reward system of the organization and praising their work (refer to the pattern Praise Participants).
  • Create a support network among ambassadors to share best practices and foster a sense of community.
  • Schedule regular check-ins between ambassadors and the ISPO to gather insights and provide guidance.

Resulting Context

  • Localized InnerSource support increases adoption and effectiveness.
  • The ISPO gains valuable, real-time feedback on challenges, successes, and opportunities within different departments.
  • Ambassadors become advocates for InnerSource, fostering a culture of collaboration.
  • Workload balancing remains a challenge, but most ambassadors find the role rewarding and career-enhancing.

Rationale

InnerSource Ambassadors leverage their existing knowledge of their departments and relationships within the organization to address challenges the ISPO cannot solve alone. This decentralization of responsibility enhances the ISPO's reach while maintaining centralized oversight.

The rewards for the ambassadors will vary by individual motivations. Rewards that ambassadors have expressed are that being an ambassador provides opportunity to build their internal network, enhance their communication and influence skills, build their knowledge further about InnerSource, build their presentation and speaking skills, and learn about other products and teams within their company.

Known Instances

  • SAP has a concept called Open Source Champions that seems related
  • WellSky has the analogous concept of InnerSource Champions representing each business area of the company.

Status

  • Initial

Authors

  • Sebastian Spier
  • Russell Rutledge

Acknowledgments

Alias

  • Departmental InnerSource Representatives/Champion/Ambassador
  • Local InnerSource Representatives/Champion/Ambassador