Add KCSEU2023 spotlight article

Author: fsmunoz

content/en/blog/_posts/2023-11-02-kcseu2023-spotlight/index.md

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+---
+layout: blog
+title: "Kubernetes Contributor Summit: Behind-the-scenes"
+slug: k8s-contributor-summit-behind-the-scenes
+date: 2023-11-03
+canonicalUrl:  https://www.k8s.dev/blog/2023/11/02/k8s-contributor-summit-behind-the-scenes/
+---
+
+**Author** : Frederico Muñoz (SAS Institute)
+
+Every year, just before the official start of KubeCon+CloudNativeCon, there's a special event that
+has a very special place in the hearts of those organizing and participating in it: the Kubernetes
+Contributor Summit. To find out why, and to provide a behind-the-scenes perspective, we interview
+Noah Abrahams, whom amongst other roles was the co-lead for the Kubernetes Contributor Summit in
+2023.
+
+
+**Frederico Muñoz (FSM)**: Hello Noah, and welcome. Could you start by introducing yourself and
+telling us how you got involved in Kubernetes?
+
+**Noah Abrahams (NA)**: I’ve been in this space for quite a while.  I got started in IT in the mid
+90's, and I’ve been working in the "Cloud" space for about 15 years.  It was, frankly, through a
+combination of sheer luck (being in the right place at the right time) and having good mentors to
+pull me into those places (thanks, Tim!), that I ended up at a startup called Apprenda in 2016.
+While I was there, they pivoted into Kubernetes, and it was the best thing that could have happened
+to my career.  It was around v1.2 and someone asked me if I could give a presentation on Kubernetes
+concepts at "my local meetup" in Las Vegas.  The meetup didn’t exist yet, so I created it, and got
+involved in the wider community.  One thing led to another, and soon I was involved in ContribEx,
+joined the release team, was doing booth duty for the CNCF, became an ambassador, and here we are
+today.
+
+## The Contributor Summit
+
+![KCSEU 2023 group photo](kcseu2023-group.jpg)
+
+**FM**: Before leading the organisation of the KCSEU 2023, how many other Contributor Summits were
+you a part of?
+
+**NA**: I was involved in four or five before taking the lead.  If I'm recalling correctly, I
+attended the summit in Copenhagen, then sometime in 2018 I joined the wrong meeting, because the
+summit staff meeting was listed on the ContribEx calendar.  Instead of dropping out of the call, I
+listened a bit, then volunteered to take on some work that didn't look like it had anybody yet
+dedicated to it.  I ended up running Ops in Seattle and helping run the New Contributor Workshop in
+Shanghai, that year.  Since then, I’ve been involved in all but two, since I missed both Barcelona
+and Valencia.
+
+**FM**: Have you noticed any major changes in terms of how the conference is organized throughout
+the years? Namely in terms of number of participants, venues, speakers, themes...
+
+**NA**: The summit changes over the years with the ebb and flow of the desires of the contributors
+that attend.  While we can typically expect about the same number of attendees, depending on the
+region that the event is held in, we adapt the style and content greatly based on the feedback that
+we receive at the end of each event.  Some years, contributors ask for more free-style or
+unconference type sessions, and we plan on having more of those, but some years, people ask for more
+planned sessions or workshops, so that's what we facilitate.  We also have to continually adapt to
+the venue that we have, the number of rooms we're allotted, how we're going to share the space with
+other events and so forth.  That all goes into the planning ahead of time, from how many talk tracks
+we’ll have, to what types of tables and how many microphones we want in a room.
+
+There has been one very significant change over the years, though, and that is that we no longer run
+the New Contributor Workshop.  While the content was valuable, running the session during the summit
+never led to any people who weren’t already contributing to the project becoming dedicated
+contributors to the project, so we removed it from the schedule.  We'll deliver that content another
+way, while we’ll keep the summit focused on existing contributors.
+
+## What makes it special
+
+**FM**: Going back to the introduction I made, I’ve heard several participants saying that KubeCon
+is great, but that the Contributor Summit is for them the main event. In your opinion, why do you
+think that makes it so?
+
+**NA**: I think part of it ties into what I mentioned a moment ago, the flexibility in our content
+types.  For many contributors, I think the summit is basically "How Kubecon used to be", back when
+it was primarily a gathering of the contributors to talk about the health of the project and the
+work that needed to be done.  So, in that context, if the contributors want to discuss, say, a new
+Working Group, then they have dedicated space to do so in the summit.  They also have the space to
+sit down and hack on a tough problem, discuss architectural philosophy, bring potential problems to
+more people’s attention, refine our methods, and so forth.  Plus, the unconference aspect allows for
+some malleability on the day-of, for whatever is most important right then and there.  Whatever
+folks want to get out of this environment is what we’ll provide, and having a space and time
+specifically to address your particular needs is always going to be well received.
+
+Let's not forget the social aspect, too.  Despite the fact that we're a global community and work
+together remotely and asynchronously, it's still easier to work together when you have a personal
+connection, and can put a face to a Github handle.  Zoom meetings are a good start, but even a
+single instance of in-person time makes a big difference in how people work together.  So, getting
+folks together a couple times a year makes the project run more smoothly.
+
+## Organizing the Summit
+
+**FM**: In terms of the organization team itself, could you share with us a general overview of the
+staffing process? Who are the people that make it happen? How many different teams are involved?
+
+**NA**: There's a bit of the "usual suspects" involved in making this happen, many of whom you'll
+find in the ContribEx meetings, but really it comes down to whoever is going to step up and do the
+work.  We start with a general call out for volunteers from the org.  There's a Github issue where
+we'll track the staffing and that will get shouted out to all the usual comms channels: slack,
+k-dev, etc.
+
+From there, there's a handful of different teams, overseeing content/program committee,
+registration, communications, day-of operations, the awards the SIGs present to their members, the
+after-summit social event, and so on.  The leads for each team/role are generally picked from folks
+who have stepped up and worked the event before, either as a shadow, or a previous lead, so we know
+we can rely on them, which is a recurring theme.  The leads pick their shadows from whoever pipes up
+on the issue, and the teams move forward, operating according to their role books, which we try to
+update at the end of each summit, with what we've learned over the past few months.  It's expected
+that a shadow will be in line to lead that role at some point in a future summit, so we always have
+a good bench of folks available to make this event happen.  A couple of the roles also have some
+non-shadow volunteers where people can step in to help a bit, like as an on-site room monitor, and
+get a feel for how things are put together without having to give a serious up-front commitment, but
+most of the folks working the event are dedicated to both making the summit successful, and coming
+back to do so in the future.  Of course, the roster can change over time, or even suddenly, as
+people gain or lose travel budget, get new jobs, only attend Europe or North America or Asia, etc.
+It's a constant dance, relying 100% on the people who want to make this project successful.
+
+Last, but not least, is the Summit lead.  They have to keep the entire process moving forward, be
+willing to step in to keep bike-shedding from derailing our deadlines, make sure the right people
+are talking to one another, lead all our meetings to make sure everyone gets a voice, etc.  In some
+cases, the lead has to even be willing to take over an entirely separate role, in case someone gets
+sick or has any other extenuating circumstances, to make sure absolutely nothing falls through the
+cracks.  The lead is only allowed to volunteer after they’ve been through this a few times and know
+what the event entails.  Event planning is not for the faint of heart.
+
+
+**FM**: The participation of volunteers is essential, but there's also the topic of CNCF support:
+how does this dynamic play out in practice?
+
+**NA**: This event would not happen in its current form without our CNCF liaison.  They provide us
+with space, make sure we are fed and caffeinated and cared for, bring us outside spaces to evaluate,
+so we have somewhere to hold the social gathering, get us the budget so we have t-shirts and patches
+and the like, and generally make it possible for us to put this event together.  They're even
+responsible for the signage and arrows, so the attendees know where to go.  They're the ones sitting
+at the front desk, keeping an eye on everything and answering people's questions.  At the same time,
+they're along to facilitate, and try to avoid influencing our planning.
+
+There's a ton of work that goes into making the summit happen that is easy to overlook, as an
+attendee, because people tend to expect things to just work.  It is not exaggerating to say this
+event would not have happened like it has over the years, without the help from our liaisons, like
+Brienne and Deb.  They are an integral part of the team.
+
+## A look ahead
+
+**FM**: Currently, we’re preparing the NA 2023 summit, how is it going? Any changes in format
+compared with previous ones?
+
+**NA**: I would say it's going great, though I'm sort of emeritus lead for this event, mostly
+picking up the things that I see need to be done and don't have someone assigned to it.  We're
+always learning from our past experiences and making small changes to continually be better, from
+how many people need to be on a particular rotation to how far in advance we open and close the CFP.
+There's no major changes right now, just continually providing the content that the contributors
+want.
+
+**FM**: For our readers that might be interested in joining in the Kubernetes Contributor Summit, is
+there anything they should know?
+
+**NA**: First of all, the summit is an event by and for Org members.  If you're not already an org
+member, you should be getting involved before trying to attend the summit, as the content is curated
+specifically towards the contributors and maintainers of the project.  That applies to the staff, as
+well, as all the decisions should be made with the interests and health of kubernetes contributors
+being the end goal.  We get a lot of people who show interest in helping out, but then aren't ready
+to make any sort of commitment, and that just makes more work for us.  If you're not already a
+proven and committed member of this community, it’s difficult for us to place you in a position that
+requires reliability.  We have made some rare exceptions when we need someone local to help us out,
+but those are few and far between.
+
+If you are, however, already a member, we'd love to have you.  The more people that are involved,
+the better the event becomes.  That applies to both dedicated staff, and those in attendance
+bringing CFPs, unconference topics, and just contributing to the discussions.  If you're part of
+this community and you're going to be at KubeCon, I would highly urge you to attend, and if you're
+not yet an org member, let's make that happen!
+
+**FM**: Indeed! Any final comments you would like to share?
+
+**NA**: Just that the Contributor Summit is, for me, the ultimate manifestation of the Hallway
+Track.  By being here, you're part of the conversations that move this project forward.  It's good
+for you, and it's good for Kubernetes.  I hope to see you all in Chicago!