Code and Collaboration: A Review of my Journey as a Developer and a Core Collaborator

Where it all Began.

So, as I said. Almost a year ago today it was the first time that I had deployed code (that only I had written) into production, and it was a nerve-wracking but incredibly exciting experience. The thought of bringing the whole site down crossed my mind a few times... I am sure many of you reading this are now thinking back to your first go-live or a time when you made a large contribution to a codebase for the first time. It may have felt overwhelming, it may have felt exciting but I am happy to say that I did not bring the site down, and a year on I am now ‘officially’ a Junior Developer, and I am part of the Umbraco Core Collaborator Community team.

I always liked the idea of getting involved in a community team, something I could sink my teeth into that exposes me to different repositories of code or an alternative way of thinking. I was nervous about applying for the role on the Core Collaborators team, for fear I wouldn’t know enough to be of any help. In my eyes, this was a role for a senior developer who knows the Umbraco codebase like the back of their hand! I even reached out to Seb - the Core Collabs Team Steward - to make sure he knew I was a junior dev. However, I also had a feeling that with a background in software testing, I could (where needed) put these skills to the test to help out. Putting any worries, or doubts to one side, I put in my application, I had an interview, and I was super happy to be accepted and I joined the Core Collaborators team in February.

Overcoming the Challenges.

Being part of a community team means you do have a level of responsibility, especially when your day-to-day task includes making decisions on what can and cannot make its way into the Umbraco codebase. In the first few weeks, I felt nervous about the fact that I hadn’t been able to merge a PR in yet. It took me about a week to figure out the reason why the solution wasn’t working locally for me was because I needed to upgrade Visual Studio… And I found this out thanks to a kind person in the Umbraco Discord community - shout out to them!  However, I quickly realised that (as with my role at true), there wasn’t any pressure within the Core Collaborator role, I wasn’t expected to be up to speed straight away and accepting PRs within 1 week, it was okay (and even encouraged) to ask for help.

Community is Key.

Joining the Core Collaborators team has given me invaluable insights into the broader landscape of Umbraco. Not only am I gaining a comprehensive understanding of previously unfamiliar aspects of the codebase, I have had the opportunity to work with like-minded people from all over the world. Working alongside the HQ team has been great, and now I feel I have a good knowledge of what a good, or bad PR can look like. If you’re wondering what a bad PR could be, check out the Unwanted Changes documentation here.

A key aspect of the role is trying to decipher between "this PR works as expected" and "this PR not only works as expected but also brings substantial value to the Umbraco solution.” I am still not always 100% on this distinction but with the support of my fellow core collaborators team, and the HQ team I can always make sure my judgement is correct and ultimately collaborate on the answer.

It didn’t hurt of course, that I got to go to Denmark for the community team trip! This was a great experience, to meet up with my team in real life for the first time, and also meet the other Umbraco community teams. It was great to learn about what the other teams get up to, and I also met most of them for the first time. Something I took from this trip was the opportunity to discuss complexities or issues other fellow developers or users have experienced, hearing other people have the same or similar code-related opinions gave me a nice feeling of “oh, maybe it isn’t just me” and this feeling is really starting to reinforce that I should trust my instincts and opinions when it comes to code.

It was also amazing that I was able to chat with many people whom I realised as we were speaking I had met them previously via their PRs when they had contributed to the Umbraco CMS! I definitely said “I think merged your PR!” more than once on that trip.

Remember, being part of an open-source community is not just about writing code; it's about learning, collaborating, and contributing to something that has been touched by many awesome developers. Something I have taken away from this role, and I recommend to others is to embrace the challenges, relish the learning experiences, and join the diverse and supportive world of open source - Umbraco’s, of course. And if you’re interested in finding out if you can apply to be part of an Umbraco community team, make sure to keep an eye on Umbraco’s blog or socials and this will be the place to apply. And if you are nervous - don’t be. Just do it, it’s been a great experience, and I’m looking forward to what is yet to come.