Developer Relations Strategy
Build awareness, engagement, and community around your project with a strategic approach to developer relations and community outreach.
Sponsor and Ecosystem Impact
Developer relations grow adoption, collaboration, and shared innovation capacity across the ecosystem, strengthening the foundations your teams build on.
Developer Relations Strategy
Playbook for pracitioners and maintainers to work together on a strategy to grow developer adoption and/or contribution.
Process Milestones
Note: that some milestones may not currently apply to a project (for example, there are no existing contributors to sponsor), but documentation for future consideration is encouraged.
- Kick off meeting: Maintainer meets with OSS Wishlist admin and pracitioner (whether sponsor employee or verified pracitioner) to align on goals and timeline.
- Audience Definition & Alignment
- Communication & Outreach Strategy
- Developer Experience & Pathways
- Advocacy, Relationships & Ecosystem Growth
- Feedback, Measurement & Renewal
- Wrap up meeting: Maintainer meets with OSS Wishlist maintainer and pracitioner
- Survey (maintainer and pracitioner)
Resources
- DevRel Metrics (CHAOSS Podcast)
- Open Collaboration Strategy
- KPI and Metrics for DevRel Programs
Open Source Developer Relations (DevRel) – Peer Review Rubric
Purpose: Evaluate how well a project understands, reaches, and sustains the developer and collaborator audiences it depends on — including contributors, users, testers, advocates, and partners.
This rubric measures strategic clarity, outreach readiness, trust, and feedback cycles.
Scoring (per criterion):
0 = Absent | 1 = Minimal/ad-hoc | 2 = Partial or inconsistent | 3 = Strong, coordinated | 4 = Mature, data-informed, and self-sustaining
A. Audience Definition & Alignment (0–16 pts)
| Criterion | Indicators of Excellence | Score |
|---|---|---|
| A1. Audience Segmentation | Clear understanding of key audiences (contributors, adopters, testers, educators, startups, etc.) and what each values. | 0–4 |
| A2. Needs and Motivations | Specific articulation of what each audience seeks — learning, visibility, stability, collaboration — and how the project meets that need. | 0–4 |
| A3. Audience–Project Fit | Explicit connection between project goals and what the audience gains (mutual benefit). | 0–4 |
| A4. Prioritization and Focus | Focused on the most critical audiences; outreach plans scaled to available capacity. | 0–4 |
B. Communication & Outreach Strategy (0–16 pts)
| Criterion | Indicators of Excellence | Score |
|---|---|---|
| B1. Outreach Channels | Chosen channels align with audiences (conferences, universities, online communities, newsletters, blogs, social, partner networks). | 0–4 |
| B2. Programmatic Engagement | Repeatable programs such as community calls, workshops, mentorships, or “getting started” events. | 0–4 |
| B3. Content & Storytelling | Authentic storytelling: tutorials, demos, blogs, and updates that communicate value and invite participation. | 0–4 |
| B4. Visibility & Consistency | Communication cadence is regular and predictable; roles and responsibilities are clear. | 0–4 |
C. Developer Experience & Pathways (0–16 pts)
| Criterion | Indicators of Excellence | Score |
|---|---|---|
| C1. First-Mile Experience | Quickstart works; contributors or users can experience value within minutes. | 0–4 |
| C2. Contribution Pathways | Clear contribution routes: issue labeling, onboarding docs, mentorship, automation for repetitive steps. | 0–4 |
| C3. Support and Responsiveness | Timely triage of PRs/issues; questions acknowledged; backlog managed intentionally. | 0–4 |
| C4. Trust & Psychological Safety | Tone of communication is inclusive, respectful, and consistent with project values. | 0–4 |
D. Advocacy, Relationships & Ecosystem Growth (0–16 pts)
| Criterion | Indicators of Excellence | Score |
|---|---|---|
| D1. External Advocacy & Ambassadors | Maintainers or community members speak at events, write posts, or otherwise represent the project publicly. | 0–4 |
| D2. Partnerships & Collaborations | Relationships with universities, startups, or foundations to expand audience reach and shared learning. | 0–4 |
| D3. Recognition & Reward Systems | Structured recognition: contributor spotlights, digital badges, event speaking invites. | 0–4 |
| D4. Ecosystem Awareness | Awareness of related projects and interoperability narratives — showing how the project fits in a broader ecosystem. | 0–4 |
E. Feedback, Measurement & Renewal (0–12 pts)
| Criterion | Indicators of Excellence | Score |
|---|---|---|
| E1. Feedback Channels | Discussion boards, surveys, events, or analytics used to gather developer sentiment and learning needs. | 0–4 |
| E2. Metrics & Signals | Measures engagement (e.g., contributors onboarded, time-to-first-success, event reach, returning participants). | 0–4 |
| E3. Renewal & Adaptation | Reviews outreach effectiveness quarterly; evolves messaging, audiences, or programs accordingly. | 0–4 |
✅ Total Score: / 76 pts
| Rating | Descriptor |
|---|---|
| 70–76 | Excellent — Clear audience strategy, repeatable engagement, measurable outcomes |
| 60–69 | Strong — Targeted, credible DevRel with room for refinement |
| 45–59 | Adequate — Basic audience understanding; inconsistent engagement |
| 25–44 | Weak — Scattered outreach, unclear audiences |
| 0–24 | Not Viable — No coherent developer-relations strategy |
Reviewer Notes
- Primary target audiences identified:
- Most effective outreach programs today:
- Major gaps or missed audiences:
- Recommended next 90-day actions: