 Hello, everybody. I hope you can hear me. My name is Mandy Chessel, and I'm the host for this Ask the Expert session. So a little bit of background about me. I've been in the industry about 30, well, well over 30 years. I worked on a large number of projects, started on mainframe, writing code in Assembler. And over the last 30 years, as you know, the industry has changed dramatically. And so I've worked on all sorts of different types of technologies. But over the last two and a bit years, I've been working on an open source project called ODPI Algeria, which is all about the integration of the knowledge that tools acquire from your use of them. This is called metadata and allowing that to be exchanged between different tools so that an organization can be much more coherent because people are sharing the knowledge that they're building. This came from an idea that a lot of regulations were requiring an organization to operate in a very coherent way. And so we actually started. I've been working with other colleagues in IBM, but also with customers of IBM who see this problem and are wanting to work with us to fix it. So one of the major contributors we have is a large global bank called ING. And we have been collaborating together to build that technology. So I'm happy to answer questions on the technology itself, my career, different things I've worked on. It's really up to you what type of questions you're interested in asking. And I believe you can fill the questions in the application so you can send me questions. Oh, I've got a question. Let's have a look. And why did you start working on it? That's a really good question. So why did we start this project on open source? Because it's a very complex piece of software. And you could think, well, maybe that could be a product. But the reality is that what this technology is trying to do is to connect tools that come from different vendors, different open source projects. And no one is going to integrate. Then no one is going to allow a single technology company to be the sort of centralized point where all this knowledge is enabled. So to make this work, we needed something that was open, fair. And we used the Linux Foundation as the sort of the keeper of this technology so that it's a safe place for different vendors to work together to come up with the standards to build the, you know, to build this ecosystem. So it was a big change for me having worked in building software products for a large company for so many years to suddenly start working in open source. But to be fair, I love it. I absolutely love the open collaboration. And the fact that everything we do is so much better than it would be if we just focused from a single company's perspective. So that's really why we started. And it's been a great journey. So the next question is who else is involved in the project? So the two companies that sort of really started it were IBM and ING. But we also have SAS, which is a very large analytics company who have a lot of experience with working with data and metadata around supporting companies building their analytics capability. So they've been very interested. And they also sort of like the third leg of the stall to come together to do this. Then we have other companies that are perhaps a bit smaller, but they have very niche requirements around integration. So one of the companies is the Russian Railways. And also we have worked with companies like Manta and I spoke to a company called Privator recently. And so we're seeing an increased interest around the, you know, not just bigger companies, but also smaller companies. And then there are other much larger companies or household names that are starting to work with us. But I can't tell you who they are at the moment. It's really up to them to do their announcements when they're ready to do that. So yeah, so we have a very wide range of different people who are consuming it, who work for big companies, who work for smaller companies and have niche products, as well as people who have to work in a very highly regulated industry and need this type of technology. Okay, so any other questions? Oh, another one coming in. Thank you very much. Oh, right. So, okay, while working on the project, are there things you've learned not to do that you can share? I think the most important thing not to do is to keep, is to build something privately until it's perfect, because it won't be perfect. And so what we've learned is to share ideas much earlier and show working prototypes and to get that feedback. And you find that there is no such thing as perfection. Everything is work in progress, really. And really forgetting to use the community to get something done is the biggest thing that we've learned to make sure that we always, we don't sort of hide things until, you know, and then just dump this massive feature without really talking to people about it. So that's what we've learned not to do. Okay, any other questions or follow-ups to that? Okay, so the question really, the next one is about the successes. And you think that was an easy one to do. So there's different levels of success. So one of the things that's been incredibly successful is the actual technology. Because we've built this with so many experts around us, it does things that are completely unique in that it's able to create this peer-to-peer sharing environment between radically different tools through a common language, through an exchange protocol that combines replication of metadata as well as federated queries. So that core piece, which is the first bit we did, that is self-configuring and self-managing, was actually quite a major success to prove that we can make that work. And then building on that, as we started to bring metadata together, a whole new raft of possibilities has opened up. And that has led to new modules, to new capability and things like that. So one of the major successes has been because we are not a commercial product, we are not tied to a specific market. We go where the problem is. And we've broken down not only the technology silos, but also the thinking silos about what a product in this particular market can do. So that in itself has been incredibly successful. And then just from the people's point of view in the project, there isn't a day or most that we don't learn something. So that is also in terms of our skills. It's like being a starter in that we have to do everything. We have to make the Lord work. We have to sort security problems out. We have to get the design right. We have to get the ecosystem right. We have to do the advocacy. It's a small community and we're doing everything just like a startup. So the things that we learn are huge. And then we have two fairly large uses of this from a sort of production business point of view. And that of course is really where the total value comes from actually from solving problems, real problems for real people. And so that's the final level of success basically is when the technology is being useful to somebody. Okay, so that was that one. Let's look at the next one. So why from my point of view, two small amount of vacancies in open source? I'm not sure. I'm following it. Why are there a small number of vacancies in open source? I'm not sure that there are. Maybe you have to give me a bit more detail. I mean, there's two parts to it. I mean, anybody can contribute to open source. The trick is getting paid for it. There are organizations that bet their business on open source and those are the ones if you want to be paid for doing open source, those are the companies to work for. And they will value your contribution and your skills that are part of that open source process. So I think it's really a question of choosing your company wisely in terms of who you want to work for. The other thing I also see is larger companies wanting an open source project to be enhanced and they may not for regulatory reasons be allowed to actually contribute. And then that's an opportunity for software companies and consultancy companies who have skills in that project and have maintainers in that project can pick up interesting contracts around it. So yeah, I think as I say, there's plenty to do and I'm sure most communities will encourage people to join. But if you have to still own a living, then it's just really looking at who's using open source and who's actually wanting to be an active member in these types of projects. I hope I answered the question. Any more questions? Okay, so the next question is if people are new to open source and they want to get involved, how can they in any project? And I think specifically in our project. So firstly, you need permission. So if you work for a company, you need to make sure that they they're okay with you doing this. Even if you're doing this in your spare time, you do have to be a little bit careful of conflict of interest. So particularly if you're in a software type business, but presumably you've got permission to do it and you've got the time to do it. Then really, as you approach your community, whether it's the Algeria community or any other, it's think you have to think about how do I get them to trust me? How do I get them to trust me? It worked very hard on this software or that whatever whatever is the product. And I want them to give me right access to all their work, which is ultimately what you get when you become a committer or a maintainer on a particular project. So the process that every community will document their process for joining in. So just being able to be a part of it, listen, talk to people, contribute ideas. And then you can also go a bit further and start contributing content to the project. And again, they will have a series of instructions on what you do. So for Algeria, if you go to our github repository, you'll see there's a thing called the community guide. That tells you how to connect into our group. And then from there, there's links to developer guides and how to become a contributor, how to become a maintainer, and all the different sort of procedures and processes that you go through. And that's quite normal for an open source project that's under what's called open governance. And that's something that the Linux Foundation does very well. There are a lot of open source projects in GitHub that are really only one person maintaining it. And so they really want to connect with them. And if they want to help you to help them, then they'll let you help them. So you need to look at the project in terms of how is it governed. But if it's like a Linux Foundation project, then in the top of the GitHub repository, you will see all the instructions on how to connect. So that's that one. The next one is a great question. Is leading an open source project different, easier and harder than leading inside a big company like IBM? So that's both, actually. And so inside a company, you have a position. And in that position, you have authority. And if you're responsible for building a product and delivering certain set of functions, you have that authority to tell people what to do, to organize the work, and make sure you've got the right people to there. So you have authority. But in an open source project, then people do what they want. They invest their time in the thing that's important, either to whoever's their company or to their own personal interest. So what you're doing in terms of leadership is allowing people to do what they want while maintaining the coherency of the whole. So the whole point, the whole purpose around it and the way that you work is much more collaborative. Sometimes you have to relax and let things happen in their own time. Sometimes the project goes and does something that you wouldn't have done. But actually is the right thing. So it's always engage brain before mouth when you're leading in this environment because you can't make anybody do anything. And so that's, it's more about the fact that it's a style thing. It test hate patients sometimes. But it also is the most wonderful thing because you see things happening that you didn't direct, you didn't think of, but the result is absolutely fantastic. So in that sometimes I see amazing things happening in the projects. And I'm thinking, well, this is easy because I didn't think about that. I didn't make that happen. I didn't need to because the community did it for me. And we have, sometimes we have problems like our bill machines fall over or we get a problem and people just rally around. So in that respect, because it's all willing volunteers, it's easier as long as we're all wanting to move into the same direction. Sometimes it's a little bit of negotiation that's required. So it probably, I think it's very different. And for some people, the, they much prefer to have it very clear on what they have to deliver, when they have to deliver it and what resources they have to deliver it for, which is more like working inside a company than a more collaborative style. For me personally, I prefer the open source approach. But it's the time when it gets a little bit difficult is when I need, when the company I work for IBM needs the open source project to do something specifically by a certain date. And that can, that can be quite, quite fun. So, yeah, so is it, is it, yes, is it easier, harder? I just think it's different. And different people prefer different styles. So that's, hopefully that's a good enough answer. So next question is, what do I love about working in open source? I think you can probably tell that I do love working in open source. And, and it's all my career, I've worked on the next generation of technology. So I started on mainframes and I then moved to working on distributed unit systems and enabling transaction processing software to work on those distributed systems at a time when people believed you needed to run serious business applications on a mainframe. And that these small distributed systems were really never going to be strong enough to run a business on, which of course, as you look back on that, you think, well, that's just ridiculous. And then after that, I started working on open standards, corba standards and implementation of that. And again, it was like, well, these open standards won't work, you need proper, you need that, that, that the security of a proprietary system. And so, and then I worked much more on data oriented systems and using metadata to control the use and expansion of data. So each stage of my career has been that next generation beyond the current product today. And so one of the reasons I like about open source is it allows that stage of development to happen in a very effective way. So we iterate, we collaborate, and we can deliver and explore new areas in a way that it's very difficult for a product team that have to basically earn and earn a living from it. And that's that to me is that is the way that that releases innovation to me. It's the most fantastic thing about open source. Oh, next question. That's a good one. Do you have a lot going on at any personal tips for work life balance? Actually, no, I'm looking for them. But he's got any good ideas. One of the things I found over the last six months while we've been working from home is how much effort I have to make to make sure I have time for myself. And so I have one room where my laptops are. And when I leave those rooms, I am I've left work, so to speak. But the one of the reasons why I find it so difficult to come away is that the whole project is so interesting that, you know, I'm sort of I want to want to keep working on it. But so for me, my my leisure time is I love hiking. And so if I can get out into the countryside and, you know, sort of, well, the weather is good. That's that's how I that's how I get I actually get away. So I think having an interest having something that allows you to step away from the very deep thinking that's required to work on any of these open source projects. And that's the that's the trick. But if anybody's got any better ideas, please let me know. Any other questions? I think I've missed just double checking. I've not missed anything out. I think I've got everybody's questions. Okay, well, I think that's that's the end of the session. So thank you very much everyone for your questions, and I hope you enjoyed it. Take care.