Merge pull request #28435 from divya-mohan0209/master

Blogpost for announcing Kubernetes Upstream Community Group Annual Reports

Author: k8s-ci-robot

content/en/blog/_posts/2021-06-28-Announcing-Kubernetes-Community-Group-Annual-Reports.md

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+---
+layout: blog
+title: "Announcing Kubernetes Community Group Annual Reports"
+description: >
+  Introducing brand new Kubernetes Community Group Annual Reports for
+  Special Interest Groups and Working Groups.
+date: 2021-06-28T10:00:00-08:00
+slug: Announcing-Kubernetes-Community-Group-Annual-Reports
+---
+
+**Authors:** Divya Mohan
+
+Given the growth and scale of the Kubernetes project, the existing reporting mechanisms were proving to be inadequate and challenging.
+Kubernetes is a large open source project. With over 100000 commits just to the main k/kubernetes repository, hundreds of other code
+repositories in the project, and thousands of contributors, there's a lot going on. In fact, there are 37 contributor groups at the time of
+writing. We also value all forms of contribution and not just code changes.
+
+With that context in mind, the challenge of reporting on all this activity was a call to action for exploring better options. Therefore
+inspired by the Apache Software Foundation’s [open guide to PMC Reporting](https://www.apache.org/foundation/board/reporting) and the
+[CNCF project Annual Reporting](https://www.cncf.io/cncf-annual-report-2020/), the Kubernetes project is proud to announce the 
+**Kubernetes Community Group Annual Reports for Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and Working Groups (WGs)**. In its flagship edition, 
+the [2020 Summary report](https://github.com/kubernetes/steering/blob/master/reports/summary-2020.md) focuses on bettering the 
+Kubernetes ecosystem by assessing and promoting the healthiness of the groups within the upstream community. 
+
+Previously, the mechanisms for the Kubernetes project overall to report on groups and their activitie were 
+(devstats)[https://k8s.devstats.cncf.io/], GitHub data, issues, to measure the healthiness of a given UG/WG/SIG/Committee. As a 
+project spanning several diverse communities, it was essential to have something that captured the human side of things. With 50,000+
+contributors, it’s easy to assume that the project has enough help and this report surfaces more information than /help-wanted and 
+/good-first-issue for end users. This is how we sustain the project. Paraphrasing one of the Steering Committee members, 
+[Paris Pittman](https://github.com/parispittman), “There was a requirement for tighter feedback loops - ones that involved more than just
+GitHub data and issues. Given that Kubernetes, as a project, has grown in scale and number of contributors over the years, we have 
+outgrown the existing reporting mechanisms."
+
+The existing communication channels between the Steering committee members and the folks leading the groups and committees were also required
+to be made as open and as bi-directional as possible. Towards achieving this very purpose, every group and committee has been assigned a
+liaison from among the steering committee members for kick off, help, or guidance needed throughout the process. According to 
+[Davanum Srinivas a.k.a. dims](https://github.com/dims), “... That was one of the main motivations behind this report. People (leading the
+groups/committees) know that they can reach out to us and there’s a vehicle for them to reach out to us… This is our way of setting up a
+two-way feedback for them." The progress on these action items would be updated and tracked on the monthly Steering Committee meetings
+ensuring that this is not a one-off activity. Quoting [Nikhita Raghunath](https://github.com/nikhita), one of the Steering Committee members,
+“... Once we have a base, the liaisons will work with these groups to ensure that the problems are resolved. When we have a report next year, 
+we’ll have a look at the progress made and how we could still do better. But the idea is definitely to not stop at the report.”
+
+With this report, we hope to empower our end user communities with information that they can use to identify ways in which they can support
+the project as well as a sneak peek into the roadmap for upcoming features. As a community, we thrive on feedback and would love to hear your
+views about the report. You can get in touch with the [Steering Committee](https://github.com/kubernetes/steering#contact) via 
+[Slack](https://kubernetes.slack.com/messages/steering-committee) or via the [mailing list]([email protected]).