01636nas a2200121   4500008004100000022001400041245006000055210005800115260004200173520124100215100002201456856003601478       2009                        eng d  a1913-610200aCommunity-Built Software: What I Learned from Calagator0 aCommunityBuilt Software What I Learned from Calagator  aOttawabTalent First Networkc06/20093 aMany open source projects start with a single developer trying to scratch an itch by making a new tool for their own use. But what if the need to be addressed is bigger, and affects more people? How can the creation of open source software involve a whole community?

At the start of 2008 I decided to build a solution to an ongoing problem in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. Portland's growing technology scene was having trouble tracking all of the user groups, meetups, and events that people were planning. I started a central calendar using Google Calendar, but found it hard to maintain. People planning the events needed the ability to make their own updates without me having to add them individually as users. A single, central information source that would be completely open to the community at large was needed. The solution became an open-source calendar aggregator called Calagator. The process of creating that solution became a very rewarding community-building effort.

By trying different things along the way, we learned how to organize an open source project to encourage community development, and code sprint practices for group work sessions, and worked with a number of tools that make collaboration easier.1 aEschright, Audrey  uhttp://timreview.ca/article/260