Merge pull request #42522 from fsmunoz/spotlight-on-contribex

Add SIG ContribEx spotlight blog article

Author: k8s-ci-robot

content/en/blog/_posts/2023-08-14-sig-contribex-spotlight.md

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+---
+layout: blog
+title: "Spotlight on SIG ContribEx"
+date: 2023-08-14
+slug: sig-contribex-spotlight-2023
+canonicalUrl: https://www.kubernetes.dev/blog/2023/08/14/sig-contribex-spotlight-2023/
+---
+
+**Author**: Fyka Ansari
+
+Welcome to the world of Kubernetes and its vibrant contributor
+community! In this blog post, we'll be shining a spotlight on the
+[Special Interest Group for Contributor
+Experience](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/sig-contributor-experience/README.md)
+(SIG ContribEx), an essential component of the Kubernetes project.
+
+SIG ContribEx in Kubernetes is responsible for developing and
+maintaining a healthy and productive community of contributors to the
+project. This involves identifying and addressing bottlenecks that may
+hinder the project's growth and feature velocity, such as pull request
+latency and the number of open pull requests and issues.
+
+SIG ContribEx works to improve the overall contributor experience by
+creating and maintaining guidelines, tools, and processes that
+facilitate collaboration and communication among contributors. They
+also focus on community building and support, including outreach
+programs and mentorship initiatives to onboard and retain new
+contributors.
+
+Ultimately, the role of SIG ContribEx is to foster a welcoming and
+inclusive environment that encourages contribution and supports the
+long-term sustainability of the Kubernetes project.
+
+In this blog post, [Fyka Ansari](https://twitter.com/1fyka) interviews
+[Kaslin Fields](https://twitter.com/kaslinfields), a DevRel Engineer
+at Google, who is a chair of SIG ContribEx, and [Madhav
+Jivrajani](https://twitter.com/MadhavJivrajani), a Software Engineer
+at VMWare who serves as a SIG ContribEx Tech Lead. This interview
+covers various aspects of SIG ContribEx, including current
+initiatives, exciting developments, and how interested individuals can
+get involved and contribute to the group. It provides valuable
+insights into the workings of SIG ContribEx and highlights the
+importance of its role in the Kubernetes ecosystem.
+
+### Introductions
+
+**Fyka:** Let's start by diving into your background and how you got
+involved in the Kubernetes ecosystem. Can you tell us more about that
+journey?
+
+**Kaslin:** I first got involved in the Kubernetes ecosystem through
+my mentor, Jonathan Rippy, who introduced me to containers during my
+early days in tech. Eventually, I transitioned to a team working with
+containers, which sparked my interest in Kubernetes when it was
+announced. While researching Kubernetes in that role, I eagerly sought
+opportunities to engage with the containers/Kubernetes community. It
+was not until my subsequent job that I found a suitable role to
+contribute consistently. I joined SIG ContribEx, specifically in the
+Contributor Comms subproject, to both deepen my knowledge of
+Kubernetes and support the community better.
+
+**Madhav:** My journey with Kubernetes began when I was a student,
+searching for interesting and exciting projects to work on. With my
+peers, I discovered open source and attended The New Contributor
+Workshop organized by the Kubernetes community. The workshop not only
+provided valuable insights into the community structure but also gave
+me a sense of warmth and welcome, which motivated me to join and
+remain involved. I realized that collaboration is at the heart of
+open-source communities, and to get answers and support, I needed to
+contribute and do my part. I started working on issues in ContribEx,
+particularly focusing on GitHub automation, despite not fully
+understanding the task at first. I continued to contribute for various
+technical and non-technical aspects of the project, finding it to be
+one of the most professionally rewarding experiences in my life.
+
+**Fyka:** That's such an inspiration in itself! I'm sure beginners who
+are reading this got the ultimate motivation to take their first
+steps. Embracing the Learning journey, seeking mentorship, and
+engaging with the Kubernetes community can pave the way for exciting
+opportunities in the tech industry. Your stories proved the importance
+of starting small and being proactive, just like Madhav said Don't be
+afraid to take on tasks, even if you're uncertain at first.
+
+###  Primary goals and scope
+
+**Fyka:** Given your experience as a member of SIG ContribEx, could
+you tell us a bit about the group's primary goals and initiatives? Its
+current focus areas? What do you see as the scope of SIG ContribEx and
+the impact it has on the Kubernetes community?
+
+**Kaslin:** SIG ContribEx's primary goals are to simplify the
+contributions of Kubernetes contributors and foster a welcoming
+community. It collaborates with other Kubernetes SIGs, such as
+planning the Contributor Summit at KubeCon, ensuring it meets the
+needs of various groups. The group's impact is evident in projects
+like updating org membership policies and managing critical platforms
+like Zoom, YouTube, and Slack. Its scope encompasses making the
+contributor experience smoother and supporting the overall Kubernetes
+community.
+
+**Madhav:** The Kubernetes project has vertical SIGs and cross-cutting
+SIGs, ContribEx is a deeply cross-cutting SIG, impacting virtually
+every area of the Kubernetes community. Adding to Kaslin,
+sustainability in the Kubernetes project and community is critical now
+more than ever, it plays a central role in addressing critical issues,
+such as maintainer succession, by facilitating cohorts for SIGs to
+train experienced community members to take on leadership
+roles. Excellent examples include SIG CLI and SIG Apps, leading to the
+onboarding of new reviewers. Additionally, SIG ContribEx is essential
+in managing GitHub automation tools, including bots and commands used
+by contributors for interacting with [Prow](https://docs.prow.k8s.io/)
+and other automation (label syncing, group and GitHub team management,
+etc).
+
+### Beginner's guide!
+
+**Fyka:** I'll never forget talking to Kaslin when I joined the
+community and needed help with contributing. Kaslin, your quick and
+clear answers were a huge help in getting me started. Can you both
+give some tips for people new to contributing to Kubernetes? What
+makes SIG ContribEx a great starting point? Why should beginners and
+current contributors consider it? And what cool opportunities are
+there for newbies to jump in?
+
+**Kaslin:** If you want to contribute to Kubernetes for the first
+time, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. A good option is
+to join SIG ContribEx as it offers great opportunities to know and
+serve the community. Within SIG ContribEx, various subprojects allow
+you to explore different parts of the Kubernetes project while you
+learn how contributions work. Once you know a bit more, it’s common
+for you to move to other SIGs within the project, and we think that’s
+wonderful. While many newcomers look for "good first issues" to start
+with, these opportunities can be scarce and get claimed
+quickly. Instead, the real benefit lies in attending meetings and
+getting to know the community. As you learn more about the project and
+the people involved, you'll be better equipped to offer your help, and
+the community will be more inclined to seek your assistance when
+needed. As a co-lead for the Contributor Comms subproject, I can
+confidently say that it's an excellent place for beginners to get
+involved. We have supportive leads and particularly beginner-friendly
+projects too.
+
+**Madhav:** To begin, read the [SIG
+README](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/master#readme) on
+GitHub, which provides an overview of the projects the SIG
+manages. While attending meetings is beneficial for all SIGs, it's
+especially recommended for SIG ContribEx, as each subproject gets
+dedicated slots for updates and areas that need help. If you can't
+attend in real-time due to time zone differences, you can catch the
+meeting recordings or
+[Notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K3vjCZ9C3LwYrOJOhztQtFuDQCe-urv-ewx1bI8IPVQ/edit?usp=sharing)
+later.
+
+### Skills you learn!
+
+**Fyka:** What skills do you look for when bringing in new
+contributors to SIG ContribEx, from passion to expertise?
+Additionally, what skills can contributors expect to develop while
+working with SIG ContribEx?
+
+**Kaslin:** Skills folks need to have or will acquire vary depending
+on what area of ContribEx they work upon. Even within a subproject, a
+range of skills can be useful and/or developed. For example, the tech
+lead role involves technical tasks and overseeing automation, while
+the social media lead role requires excellent communication
+skills. Working with SIG ContribEx allows contributors to acquire
+various skills based on their chosen subproject. By participating in
+meetings, listening, learning, and taking on tasks related to their
+interests, they can develop and hone these skills. Some subprojects
+may require more specialized skills, like program management for the
+mentoring project, but all contributors can benefit from offering
+their talents to help teach others and contribute to the community.
+
+### Sub-projects under SIG ContribEx
+
+**Fyka:** SIG ContribEx has several smaller projects. Can you tell me
+about the aims of these projects and how they've impacted the
+Kubernetes community?
+
+**Kaslin:** Some SIGs have one or two subprojects and some have none
+at all, but in SIG ContribEx, we have ELEVEN!
+
+Here’s a list of them and their respective mission statements
+
+1.  **Community**: Manages the community repository, documentation,
+    and operations.
+2.  **Community management**: Handles communication platforms and
+    policies for the community.
+3.  **Contributor-comms**: Focuses on promoting the success of
+    Kubernetes contributors through marketing.
+4.  **Contributors-documentation**: Writes and maintains documentation
+    for contributing to Kubernetes.
+5.  **Devstats**: Maintains and updates the [Kubernetes
+    statistics](https://k8s.devstats.cncf.io) website.
+6.  **Elections**: Oversees community elections and maintains related
+    documentation and software.
+7.  **Events**: Organizes contributor-focused events like the
+    Contributor Summit.
+8.  **Github management**: Manages permissions, repositories, and
+    groups on GitHub.
+9.  **Mentoring**: Develop programs to help contributors progress in
+    their contributions.
+10.  **Sigs-GitHub-actions**: Repository for GitHub actions related to
+     all SIGs in Kubernetes.
+11.  **Slack-infra**: Creates and maintains tools and automation for
+     Kubernetes Slack.
+
+
+**Madhav:** Also, Devstats is critical from a sustainability
+standpoint!
+
+_(If you are willing to learn more and get involved with any of these
+sub-projects, check out the_ [SIG ContribEx
+README](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/sig-contributor-experience/README.md#subprojects))._
+
+### Accomplishments
+
+**Fyka:** With that said, any SIG-related accomplishment that you’re
+proud of?
+
+**Kaslin:** I'm proud of the accomplishments made by SIG ContribEx and
+its contributors in supporting the community. Some of the recent
+achievements include:
+
+1.  _Establishment of the elections subproject_: Kubernetes is a massive
+    project, and ensuring smooth leadership transitions is
+    crucial. The contributors in this subproject organize fair and
+    consistent elections, which helps keep the project running
+    effectively.
+2.  _New issue triage proces_: With such a large open-source project
+    like Kubernetes, there's always a lot of work to be done. To
+    ensure things progress safely, we implemented new labels and
+    updated functionality for issue triage using our PROW tool. This
+    reduces bottlenecks in the workflow and allows leaders to
+    accomplish more.
+3.  _New org membership requirements_: Becoming an org member in
+    Kubernetes can be overwhelming for newcomers. We view org
+    membership as a significant milestone for contributors aiming to
+    take on leadership roles. We recently updated the rules to
+    automatically remove privileges from inactive members, making sure
+    that the right people have access to the necessary tools and
+    responsibilities.
+
+Overall, these accomplishments have greatly benefited our fellow
+contributors and strengthened the Kubernetes community.
+
+### Upcoming initiatives
+
+**Fyka:** Could you give us a sneak peek into what's next for the
+group? We're excited to hear about upcoming projects and initiatives
+from this dynamic team.
+
+**Madhav:** We’d love for more groups to sign up for mentoring
+cohorts! We’re probably going to have to spend some time polishing the
+process around that.
+
+### Final thoughts
+
+**Fyka:** As we wrap up our conversation, would you like to share some
+final thoughts for those interested in contributing to SIG ContribEx
+or getting involved with Kubernetes?
+
+**Madhav**: Kubernetes is meant to be overwhelming and difficult
+initially! You’re coming into something that’s taken multiple people,
+from multiple countries, multiple years to build. Embrace that
+diversity! Use the high entropy initially to collide around and gain
+as much knowledge about the project and community as possible before
+you decide to settle in your niche.
+
+**Fyka:** Thank You Madhav and Kaslin, it was an absolute pleasure
+chatting about SIG ContribEx and your experiences as a member. It's
+clear that the role of SIG ContribEx in Kubernetes is significant and
+essential, ensuring scalability, growth and productivity, and I hope
+this interview inspires more people to get involved and contribute to
+Kubernetes. I wish SIG ContribEx all the best, and can't wait to see
+what exciting things lie ahead!
+
+## What next?
+
+We love meeting new contributors and helping them in investigating
+different Kubernetes project spaces. If you are interested in getting
+more involved with SIG ContribEx, here are some resources for you to
+get started:
+
+* [GitHub](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/master/sig-contributor-experience#contributor-experience-special-interest-group)
+* [Mailing list](https://groups.google.com/g/kubernetes-sig-contribex)
+* [Open Community
+  Issues/PRs](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/labels/sig%2Fcontributor-experience)
+* [Slack](https://slack.k8s.io/)
+* [Slack channel
+  #sig-contribex](https://kubernetes.slack.com/messages/sig-contribex)
+* SIG Contribex also hosted a [KubeCon
+    talk](https://youtu.be/5Bs1bs6iFmY) about studying Kubernetes
+    Contributor experiences.