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1.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.02 3========================================4Linux Kernel Contribution Maturity Model5========================================6 7 8Background9==========10 11As a part of the 2021 Linux Kernel Maintainers’ Summit, there was a12`discussion <https://lwn.net/Articles/870581/>`_ about the challenges in13recruiting kernel maintainers as well as maintainer succession. Some of14the conclusions from that discussion included that companies which are a15part of the Linux Kernel community need to allow engineers to be16maintainers as part of their job, so they can grow into becoming17respected leaders and eventually, kernel maintainers. To support a18strong talent pipeline, developers should be allowed and encouraged to19take on upstream contributions such as reviewing other people’s patches,20refactoring kernel infrastructure, and writing documentation.21 22To that end, the Linux Foundation Technical Advisory Board (TAB)23proposes this Linux Kernel Contribution Maturity Model. These common24expectations for upstream community engagement aim to increase the25influence of individual developers, increase the collaboration of26organizations, and improve the overall health of the Linux Kernel27ecosystem.28 29The TAB urges organizations to continuously evaluate their Open Source30maturity model and commit to improvements to align with this model. To31be effective, this evaluation should incorporate feedback from across32the organization, including management and developers at all seniority33levels. In the spirit of Open Source, we encourage organizations to34publish their evaluations and plans to improve their engagement with the35upstream community.36 37Level 038=======39 40* Software Engineers are not allowed to contribute patches to the Linux41 kernel.42 43 44Level 145=======46 47* Software Engineers are allowed to contribute patches to the Linux48 kernel, either as part of their job responsibilities or on their own49 time.50 51Level 252=======53 54* Software Engineers are expected to contribute to the Linux Kernel as55 part of their job responsibilities.56* Software Engineers will be supported to attend Linux-related57 conferences as a part of their job.58* A Software Engineer’s upstream code contributions will be considered59 in promotion and performance reviews.60 61Level 362=======63 64* Software Engineers are expected to review patches (including patches65 authored by engineers from other companies) as part of their job66 responsibilities67* Contributing presentations or papers to Linux-related or academic68 conferences (such those organized by the Linux Foundation, Usenix,69 ACM, etc.), are considered part of an engineer’s work.70* A Software Engineer’s community contributions will be considered in71 promotion and performance reviews.72* Organizations will regularly report metrics of their open source73 contributions and track these metrics over time. These metrics may be74 published only internally within the organization, or at the75 organization’s discretion, some or all may be published externally.76 Metrics that are strongly suggested include:77 78 * The number of upstream kernel contributions by team or organization79 (e.g., all people reporting up to a manager, director, or VP).80 * The percentage of kernel developers who have made upstream81 contributions relative to the total kernel developers in the82 organization.83 * The time interval between kernels used in the organization’s servers84 and/or products, and the publication date of the upstream kernel85 upon which the internal kernel is based.86 * The number of out-of-tree commits present in internal kernels.87 88Level 489=======90 91* Software Engineers are encouraged to spend a portion of their work92 time focused on Upstream Work, which is defined as reviewing patches,93 serving on program committees, improving core project infrastructure94 such as writing or maintaining tests, upstream tech debt reduction,95 writing documentation, etc.96* Software Engineers are supported in helping to organize Linux-related97 conferences.98* Organizations will consider community member feedback in official99 performance reviews.100 101Level 5102=======103 104* Upstream kernel development is considered a formal job position, with105 at least a third of the engineer’s time spent doing Upstream Work.106* Organizations will actively seek out community member feedback as a107 factor in official performance reviews.108* Organizations will regularly report internally on the ratio of109 Upstream Work to work focused on directly pursuing business goals.110