Guidance for mentors and podlings on assessing community progress and readiness during incubation. Healthy podlings are active, transparent, and diverse, qualities that reflect ASF values and readiness for graduation. Measuring podling health is not an audit. It is a learning process that helps identify where support or course correction may be needed.
1. Why Measure Health
Regularly reviewing podling health helps mentors and communities:
- Detect potential issues early and address them constructively.
- Promote transparency and shared accountability.
- Support mentoring discussions based on clear evidence.
- Demonstrate steady progress toward ASF-style independence and graduation.
Healthy communities grow through reflection, not solely through metrics.
2. What “Healthy” Means at the ASF
At Apache, project health reflects community strength as much as technical output.
Healthy projects show:
- Active, public communication on mailing lists.
- Shared participation and balanced decision-making.
- Regular, ASF-compliant releases.
- Engaged mentorship and mutual trust.
- Clear governance practices and visible accountability.
Warning signs include:
- Quiet or off-list decision-making.
- Dependence on one company or person.
- Long release gaps.
- Lack of mentor feedback or involvement.
3. Tracking and Discussing Trends
Podling health evolves over time. Focus on patterns, not snapshots.
Good practice:
- Review participation and contribution trends quarterly.
- Combine metrics with qualitative context.
- Focus discussions on causes and next steps.
- Share short summaries of progress and challenges on the
dev@ list.
Trends provide insight and open discussion provides understanding.
4. Key Indicators
| Category | Signs of Health | Warning Signs |
|---|
| Community | Regular discussion and new participation on dev@ | Few active voices; off-list decisions |
| Releases | ASF-compliant, reviewed, timely | Long gaps or unclear ownership |
| Mentorship | Active, visible guidance | Silence or dependency on one mentor |
| Governance | Documented votes, consensus, role rotation | One entity dominates decisions |
Mentors can use these indicators to guide conversations and identify areas that need attention.
5. Diversity as a Health Indicator
Diversity is central to ASF sustainability. A balanced community is stronger and more resilient.
Indicators of diversity:
- Contributors from multiple employers and regions.
- Balanced commit and voting participation.
- New contributors progressing toward committership.
- No single vendor controls releases or governance.
Encourage rotation of release managers and inclusion of new contributors in reviews and votes.
6. Data Sources
Most signs of health are publicly visible:
- Mailing list archives - participation, tone, transparency.
- GitHub activity - contributor diversity and review behaviour.
- Podling reports - self-reflection and progress updates.
- Release history - cadence and confidence with ASF processes.
Metrics provide evidence, not conclusions and always pair data with context and discussion.
7. Mentor Responsibilities
Mentors play a key role in observing and supporting podling health.
- Encourage self-assessment and regular reflection.
- Help interpret data and community context.
- Ensure at least one mentor signs each podling report.
- Raise sustained concerns on
general@incubator. - Acknowledge and celebrate improvement.
Visible mentorship signals engagement and builds trust.
8. Podling Self-Assessment
Podlings should take responsibility for their own health and improvement.
- Discuss progress and challenges quarterly on
dev@. - Use the ASF Maturity Model as a framework.
- Share results and reflections openly with mentors and the IPMC.
Self-assessment promotes transparency and ownership.
9. Health Review Timing
Podlings generally move through three phases of health development:
| Stage | Focus Areas |
|---|
| Early (0–6 months) | Establish communication and plan the first release. |
| Mid (6–12 months) | Broaden participation and strengthen governance. |
| Pre-Graduation | Demonstrate independence and mentor confidence. |
These stages are guidelines, not deadlines, and help structure the focus of mentoring.
10. Common Health Challenges
Common issues include:
- Limited mentor engagement or visibility.
- Over-reliance on one or two contributors.
- Off-list or vendor-controlled decisions.
- Long release gaps.
Open and transparent discussions, along with mentoring support, usually resolve these issues before they impact graduation readiness.
11. Communication and Tone
Respectful, transparent communication is essential to podling health.
- Keep project discussions public on mailing lists.
- Disagree constructively and focus on ideas, not individuals.
- Avoid sarcasm or dismissive replies.
- Refer to the ASF Code of Conduct if needed.
- Mentors should intervene early if the tone becomes unwelcoming.
Healthy communication strengthens trust and participation.
12. Tools and Reports
Useful public resources include:
- Podling Status Page - summary of releases, mentors, and community activity.
- podlings.xml / public_podlings.json - metadata used in dashboards.
- Podling reports 0 qualitative updates from the community itself.
Use these tools to observe patterns and initiate conversations, rather than to evaluate performance.
13. Graduation Readiness Signals
A podling is ready to graduate when it:
- Has a sustainable contributor base.
- Makes regular ASF-compliant releases.
- Operates transparently and self-governs.
- Communicates constructively and respectfully.
- Understands ASF infrastructure and policies.
- Remains stable when contributors or employers change.
Graduation formalises what a healthy, independent community already demonstrates.
14. Key Points
- Health measurement supports learning and improvement.
- Healthy podlings are transparent, diverse, and self-aware.
- Mentors help interpret data and foster discussion.
- Progress deserves recognition as much as correction.
A healthy podling today becomes a strong Apache project tomorrow.
15. See Also