Workshop: Shameless

A SkillsCast for this session is not available.

This is a shame for at least 2 reasons:

• the Cucumber project is missing out on a huge potential source of help;

• non-contributors are missing out on valuable learning that they could get from working with experienced contributors

In this session you'll discover what it takes to make a contribution to the Cucumber code base. If you are an existing contributor to Cucumber or other open source projects you are welcome, but we’re most interested in meeting first-timers who have never contributed to an open-source project before. You'll explore the process and then spend time in pairs working on a simple issue from the Cucumber backlog. The focus won't be on actually fixing the issue, although that would be a bonus, but on what makes it hard for new contributors to make their first pull request.

The Cucumber project has to be open and inviting for new contributors. The ideal scenario is when contributors get involved without fear of being shamed by scathing reviews or impolite comments. The Red/Green/Refactor cycle emphasises that you get to 'shameless' green, and then use the existing tests to allow you to refactor safely. Contributing to an open source project like Cucumber should be similar: fix an issue 'shamelessly' and then use feedback from fellow contributors to improve the design of your solution.

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