Combat Maintainer Burnout with Proactive Metrics

The presentation discusses burnout in open source projects and provides recommendations to reduce it.

• Burnout is a common problem in open source projects
• Factors that contribute to burnout include losing patience, being always available, and losing interest
• To reduce burnout, it is recommended to increase variety, delegate tasks, and provide clear milestones
• Communication and building relationships are important in reducing burnout
• Boundaries are vital to maintaining personal health and preventing burnout

The presenter uses the example of a cat becoming aggressive when not fed on time to illustrate the importance of managing emotions in preventing burnout.

While there are many ways that projects can define and measure health, this talk will focus on maintainers as they are critical to the development, leadership and governance of their projects. As burnout continues to be a growing issue across roles, industries and communities, losing maintainers within small communities can have detrimental impact on the sustainability of that project. This talk will discuss methods and metrics to identify signals for overloaded and overworked maintainers. While metrics alone cannot fix the problem, they can help to proactively flag emerging issues so your community can adjust before it's too late.