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Joomla, an open-source CMS born from a unanimous 'spoon' of Mambo, has rapidly grown into a global community with 75,000 forum users, but faces challenges in attracting developer attention against its large user base.
Key Insights
Joomla experienced a completely unanimous 'spoon' from its predecessor Mambo in 2005, rebranding and rebuilding its community and infrastructure from scratch.
The Joomla project hosts the largest installation of SourceForge Enterprise globally, with 55,000 registered developers using its forge.
Joomla's extension site, developed by a third-party developer, now receives more traffic than any other Joomla site, highlighting the importance of third-party contributions.
The project has a dual structure: a flat core team for overarching decisions and working groups (translation, quality and testing, development, etc.) where most of the work happens.
During Google Summer of Code 2006, Joomla participated with six sponsored projects and two non-sponsored ones, with students contributing between 50-400 hours each.
Three students and one mentor from Google Summer of Code 2006 successfully joined Joomla's development working group, indicating successful integration of new talent.
From Mambo to Joomla: A unique community split
The Joomla project emerged in September 2005 from a unanimous split with its predecessor, Mambo, a popular open-source content management system (CMS) initially released around 2000-2001. This event is described as a 'spoon' rather than a 'fork' because the entire Mambo community transitioned to the new Joomla project, leaving behind a new entity for Mambo. The rebranding and bug-fixing efforts led to the first Joomla release, which maintained a similar core to Mambo's roots. A significant challenge post-split was rebuilding the community and establishing all necessary infrastructure for an open-source project from scratch, using only a codebase as the foundation. This foundational period, though arduous, has been crucial to Joomla's rapid growth and success, often overshadowing the journey from its inception.
Building infrastructure and community engagement
Following its inception, Joomla rapidly established essential infrastructure. The project opened its developer forge shortly after its birth, which evolved into the largest installation of SourceForge Enterprise globally, donated and hosted by VA Software. This platform provides developers with full access to source repositories, wikis, and bug trackers. To address a perceived 'stigma' of limited outward communication from Joomla developers, the 'developer network' was created. This initiative includes a blog-based site for enhanced communication and houses developer documentation. A major success story is the extension site, designed to help users navigate and find third-party packages, which now surpasses all other Joomla sites in traffic. This crucial platform was developed by a third-party contributor, showcasing the power of community-driven development.
Joomla 1.5: A foundational rewrite and future vision
A pivotal development for Joomla was the complete rewrite of its codebase into Joomla 1.5, built on an object-oriented framework. This rewrite was a strategic move to modernize the CMS while making significant efforts to maintain backward compatibility. This decision was paramount to prevent third-party developers from having to completely overhaul their existing extensions, thereby preserving the vibrant ecosystem of add-on functionality. Joomla 1.5 represents the future direction of the project, with decisions heavily influenced by user feedback due to the community's predominantly end-user orientation. The release of an official user manual and the anticipated final release of Joomla 1.0.12, with Joomla 1.5 in beta, marked significant milestones in the project's evolution.
Explosive growth and global reach
The growth trajectory of Joomla has been remarkable. From having virtually no online presence in early searches, the project achieved significant popularity within approximately one year. By the time of this presentation, Joomla boasted 75,000 registered users on its forums and 55,000 registered developers on its SourceForge Enterprise instance. Traffic metrics, such as Alexa rankings, were described as 'stunning,' demonstrating immense global adoption. Data indicated a strong concentration of users and developers in Europe, which correlated with the high attendance at European Joomla events. This rapid expansion from obscurity to widespread recognition is a testament to the project's appeal and community efforts.
Organizational structure: A flat hierarchy and working groups
Joomla operates with a unique organizational structure characterized by a flat hierarchy at the top, flowing down to specialized working groups. At its apex is the core team, consisting of approximately 22-23 members who make overarching decisions and enforce project direction. Below this, most of the actual work is carried out within various working groups, such as translation, quality and testing, development, sites and infrastructure, documentation, design and accessibility, and marketing and media. Each group has leads who coordinate activities. The translation group alone comprises leaders from numerous language sub-teams, supporting over 70 languages. The quality and testing group plays a critical role, taking over development leadership once a release reaches RC status, ensuring rigorous bug checking and resolution before public release. This structure aims to distribute responsibilities effectively and leverage the diverse skills within the community.
The 'gift economy' and volunteer motivation
Joomla operates on a 'gift economy' model, driven by volunteers who share common goals. Despite diverse cultural backgrounds across its global community, members tend to collaborate and support each other organically. The primary motivation stems from a genuine passion for the project, akin to choosing an art class over a mandatory math class. This intrinsic motivation fosters a high level of engagement. The project's meritocracy means status and importance are based on contributions and actions rather than titles or seniority. A non-profit foundation, 'Open Source Matters,' was established early on to protect the project's assets and ensure its open and free nature. While most work is voluntary, the company hosting Joomla's sites provides a salary to one site infrastructure individual, a significant gesture of support.
Google Summer of Code (GSoC) as a catalyst for growth
The Google Summer of Code (GSoC) program played a significant role in Joomla's development and research efforts, particularly for its future 2.0 framework. In GSoC 2006, Joomla focused on researching new technologies and incorporating them into its roadmap. The program also served as a talent-sharing initiative and a testing ground for structural changes within the project. Students participating in GSoC were highly motivated, seeing it as a stepping stone to professional careers, a way to apply their studies to real-world projects, gain financial support, and learn crucial project management and teamwork skills. The program facilitated direct interaction with core team members and provided a fun, engaging environment for developers.
Managing GSoC projects and lessons learned
Joomla managed six sponsored and two non-sponsored projects during GSoC 2006, a substantial undertaking for a 12-week period. Proactive project management, including weekly reports from students and mentors, was crucial for progress. Challenges such as time zone differences, cultural misunderstandings, and variations in student knowledge compared to mentors required careful navigation. A key lesson learned was the difference between knowing technology and effectively applying it to project solutions, and the importance of guiding students through project work, planning, and collaboration. The program emphasized a 'release early and often' philosophy, with students committing code daily to enable continuous tracking and identify potential issues. Open communication was vital for students to stay motivated and address challenges proactively. The outcome saw three students and one mentor integrate into Joomla's development working group, highlighting the program's success in nurturing talent and driving project contributions.
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Joomla! Open Source Project Management
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Common Questions
Joomla is an open-source content management system. It originated from a project called Mambo, which was forked by the community in 2005 due to disagreements, leading to the creation of Joomla with a new codebase and community structure.
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Mentioned in this video
An open-source content management system that evolved from Mambo.
The precursor content management system to Joomla, split due to community differences.
A platform where Mambo was initially released and where Joomla later established its developer forge, which became the largest SourceForge Enterprise installation.
A new foundational framework for Joomla, representing a significant rewrite and the future direction of the project.
The project partnered with Eclipse and a committer on the Eclipse project to create a Joomla IDE called J-Code.
A personalized Joomla IDE being developed by the Joomla project in partnership with the Eclipse ecosystem.
The Joomla project adopted the Code of Conduct from the Ubuntu project.
A communication tool used by the Joomla project for chatting with team members across different time zones.
A communication tool used by the Joomla project for live video chats.
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