Glossary

A comprehensive explanation of the terms and categories used to track open source impact, detailing how contribution data is collected, sorted, and calculated within Open Source Portfolio.

Portfolio-wide Metrics

Terms used on the main page and README to show the total work done across the full span of open source activity.

Total Impact

The total number of all recorded contributions since the very first activity on GitHub.

Calculation Logic
Adds the grand total of merged PRs, issues, reviewed PRs, co-authored PRs, and community collaborations.

Active Since

The year of the first recorded contribution found on GitHub.

Calculation Logic
Identifies the date of the very first contribution found in the data to set the starting point for the history.

Impacted Repos

The total number of open source projects with at least one contribution.

Calculation Logic
Identifies every unique external repository containing at least one recorded contribution.

Primary Focus Projects

The top three repositories where the highest contributions have occurred since the first year of contribution.

Calculation Logic
Ranks all tracked repositories by lifetime contribution volume and selects the top three.

Collaboration Profile

A role assigned based on the primary way of contributing to the community.

Calculation Logic
Analyzes contribution frequency across all categories to assign a role, such as "Community Mentor" for high review volumes.

Quarterly Reports

How the data is organized into quarters to make it easy to find and read.

Reports Index

The main list of the portfolio. It organizes all work into separate pages grouped by year and three-month periods (quarters).

Data Source
The Quarterly Reports page works like a folder, displaying the total contributions for each year and its corresponding three-month periods.

Quarterly Report Metrics

Terms used inside individual reports to explain work done during a specific three-month window.

Quarterly Statistics

A summary that shows the total work and the projects involved during a specific three-month period.

Calculation Logic
Aggregates all contribution types and unique repositories involved within a specific three-month window.

Top 3 Repositories

The projects that received the most work and attention within each quarter.

Calculation Logic
Ranks repositories by the volume of contributions performed during the quarter.

Merged PRs

A record of PRs that were accepted and added to external repositories.

Calculation Logic
Identifies PRs with a merged status and calculates the Review Period as the time from the first proposal to final acceptance.

Issues

A record of technical discoveries, bug reports, and feature proposals created on external repositories.

Calculation Logic
Collects all authored issues regardless of assignment. It calculates the Closing Period as the time from the initial opening until the issue is finished.

Reviewed PRs

A record of formal reviews provided on PRs within external repositories.

Calculation Logic
Measures the Review Period from the creation of the PR to the submission of the formal review, while tracking the Status and Last Update columns for the current state and the most recent activity.

Co-Authored PRs

A record of PRs where contributions were made directly to the code alongside other developers.

Calculation Logic
Identifies credit via co-author commit information. The Commit Period spans from the creation of the PR to the first code contribution to indicate when the collaboration started. The Status and Last Update columns track the current state and the most recent activity.

Collaborations

A record of participation in discussions within issues or PRs authored by others in external repositories.

Calculation Logic
Tracks comments on PRs and issues unless or until they are officially reviewed.

Community & Leadership

A record of honors, active and past roles, alongside real-time community work.

Milestones and Awards

A showcase of ecosystem honors and significant achievements earned within the open source community.

Entry Method
Entries are manually maintained in files within the contents folder. Each record includes the achievement title, the granting organization, and the year it was received.

Ecosystem Advocacy & Roles

A record of formal positions held within open source organizations.

Entry Method
Entries originate from files within the contents folder. Roles are marked as Active or Past based on the recorded dates.

Active Workbench

A live dashboard of work currently in progress.

Entry Method
Fetches open tasks from GitHub and filters for active priorities, excluding legacy projects where maintenance is no longer performed. Tasks are sorted into groups:
  • To do issues: Assigned issues
  • Request review: PRs waiting for a review
  • Ongoing PRs: Authored PRs that are currently open and being actively worked on
  • Moving co-authored PRs forward: Collaborative PRs where contributions are being made alongside others to reach completion
  • Review in progress: Reviews currently being done
  • Bot request review: Automated bot requests waiting for a review
Only open items are shown; they are removed once they are merged or closed.

Workbench Status & Ball Tracking

Visual indicators used to track responsibility and activity.

Entry Method
Each task features a "Ball Tracking" badge to show the current state of responsibility:
  • TAKE ACTION: Indicates a response is required following the most recent substantive activity from another maintainer, contributor, or a bot review.
  • WAITING: Confirms the last substantive action was performed by the user; awaiting a response from the PR author or a maintainer.
  • WATCHING: Participation exists, but the current interaction is primarily between other maintainers or contributors.
  • APPROVED: The PR has received a formal approval and is ready for the final merge process.
  • STALE: No substantive activity (comments, code, or reviews) has occurred for 21 days. The day count on this badge reflects the time elapsed since the last substantive update, identifying tasks that may require a follow-up or a "nudge" to resume progress.
Note on Timers: The "Last Update" date ignores "noise" such as labels, reviewer pings, or base-branch merges. The activity clock only resets when a new commit, a code review (performed by a human or a bot), or a discussion comment is provided.

Community Engagement

Work that supports the growth and leadership of the open source community outside of writing code.

Articles Written

Blog posts and articles around open source written to support and advocate for the open source ecosystem.

Entry Method
Data is aggregated from Dev.to via automated API fetches and combined with manual entries (such as freeCodeCamp) maintained in the contents folder. All entries are combined and sorted chronologically.