Contributor Ladder Task Force

Purpose

This task force is focused on developing best practices and reusable guidance to help LF Decentralized Trust (LF/DT) projects onboard new contributors, grow more maintaners, and recognize contributions of all types to LFDT projects and initiatives. Our scope includes:

• Defining contributor ladders to support progression from first-time contributors to maintainers and project leaders.
• Establishing guidance for ADOPTERS.md files as tools for trust, visibility, and identifying future contributors from end-user organizations.

Together, these practices aim to improve contributor engagement, transparency, and ecosystem maturity across LF/DT projects.

Goals

1. Define contributor ladders appropriate for LF/DT project types (code, specification, tooling, etc.).
2. Recommend onboarding, mentorship, and recognition strategies to grow contributor engagement.
3. Establish best practices for ADOPTERS.md files, including:
   • Clear definitions (e.g., direct vs. transitive adopters)
   • Suggested formats and structure
   • Strategic use in community building, elections, and reporting
4. Highlight how adopter visibility can help surface future contributors from end-user organizations.
5. Provide reusable templates and examples for both contribution ladders and adopters.md files.
6. Recommend ways to integrate these practices into LF/DT project governance and reporting.

Timeline

Phase	Task	Target Completion
Phase 1	Confirm initial participants and schedule kickoff meeting	August 2, 2025
Phase 2	Review existing ladders and adopters.md practices	August 23, 2025
Phase 3	Draft LF/DT-aligned templates and guidance	September 13, 2025
Phase 4	Solicit community and TAC feedback	October 1, 2025
Phase 5	Finalize and publish documentation and templates	October 15, 2025

Deliverables

• Contributor Ladder Guidance

  • Definitions and examples of role progression
  • Templates for different project types and stages

• Adopters.md Best Practices

  • Guidance on format and structure
  • Clarification of adopter categories (direct, transitive)
  • Sample language for encouraging contributions from adopters

• Contributor Growth Toolkit

  • Onboarding and mentorship checklist
  • Template content for GOVERNANCE.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, and ADOPTERS.md

• Reporting Recommendations

  • Suggestions for incorporating contributor and adopter metrics into TAC reviews

Participants

• Lead: Diane Mueller (Hedera Foundation)
• Tracy Kuhrt (LF/DT TAC, supporting)
• Arun S M (Walmart Global Tech)
• Peter Somogyvari (Accenture)
• Char Howland (Indicio)
• Jessica Gonzalez (The Linux Foundation)
• Ry Jones (The Linux Foundation)

This task force is open to additional participants. Please contact the lead or open an issue if you’d like to join or contribute.