Towards the First Code Contribution: Processes and Information Needs

TL;DR

This paper investigates the information needs of newcomers in software projects, proposing a 16-step process model and highlighting the potential for automated tools to provide tailored documentation, thereby easing their first contribution.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed process model for newcomers' contribution steps and identifies relevant information sources, enabling automated support tailored to individual and project needs.

Findings

Developed a 16-step model of newcomers' contribution process

Identified key information types and sources for each process step

Highlighted factors influencing information relevancy for newcomers

Abstract

Newcomers to a software project must overcome many barriers before they can successfully place their first code contribution, and they often struggle to find information that is relevant to them. In this work, we argue that much of the information needed by newcomers already exists, albeit scattered among many different sources, and that many barriers can be addressed by automatically identifying, extracting, generating, summarizing, and presenting documentation that is specifically aimed and customized for newcomers. To gain a detailed understanding of the processes followed by newcomers and their information needs before making their first code contribution, we conducted an empirical study. Based on a survey with about 100 practitioners, grounded theory analysis, and validation interviews, we contribute a 16-step model for the processes followed by newcomers to a software project and we identify relevant information, along with individual and project characteristics that influence the relevancy of information types and sources. Our findings form an essential step towards automated tool support that provides relevant information to project newcomers in each step of their contribution processes.