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Open Source

This document provides 4 ways to come up with ideas for open source projects: 1) Focus on solving problems or improving existing projects by using them and noting issues; 2) See what users say are frustrations online; 3) Contribute things that don't require coding like documentation, design, or answering questions; 4) Get inspiration from problems other contributors have solved. The key is to actively seek out problems rather than waiting for ideas to come.

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cedlanio
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124 views6 pages

Open Source

This document provides 4 ways to come up with ideas for open source projects: 1) Focus on solving problems or improving existing projects by using them and noting issues; 2) See what users say are frustrations online; 3) Contribute things that don't require coding like documentation, design, or answering questions; 4) Get inspiration from problems other contributors have solved. The key is to actively seek out problems rather than waiting for ideas to come.

Uploaded by

cedlanio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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OPEN

SOURCE
IDEAS
4 Ways To Come Up With Ideas For
Open Source Projects
Generating ideas and contributing to open source projects
can be very rewarding and can help you learn and build
experience for almost anything. However, coming up with
ideas is not always easy especially if you have to force
yourself to come up with ideas.

I have found that it just blocks the entire thinking process


and you end up having no ideas at all. Often you want to
have a great idea for an OSS because that feels more
meaningful than finding a typo.

And it might be true that a great feature or fixing a big bug


provides more value for the open source project than just
finding a typo but starting out fixing a typo can open your
mind to areas that need improvement and eventually give
you that big idea you have been seeking.

1
Here are 4 ways to come up with great
ideas and features to contribute to
open source projects:

1. Focus on what solves a problem or makes a project


better. What issues does the project have? The first step
is to not overthink it. Don’t have a specified time where
you sit down and come up with ideas for a project,
instead let it happen naturally. 

Begin with projects you already use or want to use.


Download the software and start using it. See if it does what
it says it does and whenever you find yourself wishing
something could be better, write it down. Do that for a
number of days for different projects and you should have
several ideas that would be good contributions to open
source projects.

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2. See what other users say about the project. What
existing frustrations do they have when using the open
source software? For example, look if someone says they
hate something about a project or wish something was
better. That is an opportunity for you to improve the OSS.

Also researching online to find pain points can give you


inspiration for areas that need improvement. Facebook,
Reddit and Twitter can be great places to find people’s
opinions about problems an open source project has. If you
know someone who uses the software, ask them what they
like and don’t like about it. That can give you some really
valuable insight into problem areas as well.

3. You do not have to come up with ground breaking


ideas to be able to contribute to open source projects. You
do not even have to code to contribute to projects. Usually
it’s the parts that don’t need coding that are neglected and
need the most work. This can be as simple as just finding a
typo. Other things could be design, for example
restructuring and improving the usability and layout of a
project.
.

3
Another area where you can contribute is with the
project’s documentation. For example making it more
understandable, writing tutorials or translating the
project into a different language. You can also answer
questions that people have about the project on Stack
Overflow or Reddit. The areas where you can implement
new ideas and contribute to a project are almost endless

4. Look at what other people have solved to get some


inspiration. Browse through the discussion and see what
problems other people solved. Open the issues tab of a
project on Github to see what issues people are already
working on. This can give you some inspiration for areas that
need improvement.

For example one person fixed something with an open


source project but that fix led to a new problem. That is an
opportunity for you to solve that new problem.

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The important thing to remember when generating ideas for
open source is that ideas are not some mystical concept
that pop into your head out of nowhere. You have to actively
seek the problems and ideas to find them.

Once you have an idea and want to contribute, just spend a


few minutes making sure it has not already been discussed
somewhere else. Go through the README, mailing list, stack
overflow, etc. If your idea is not mentioned anywhere you
can proceed to opening an issue or pulling a request. 

I hope this helped you gain some insight on how to come up


with more and better ideas for open source projects. Good
luck finding new ideas!

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