Global collaboration: What open source and big tech can teach us

Let me introduce the Synthstrom Deluge - a 'groove box'. It lets musicians create complete electronic music tracks from scratch. Electronic music has become my latest hobby. I've yet to produce any hits during my months of tinkering, but what makes this device fascinating isn't just its capabilities. Two years ago, Synthstrom made a bold move: they released the device firmware as open source. The Deluge’s open source firmware development processes are relaxed by corporate standards. No roadmaps, sprint planning, or formal hierarchies. Just a global group of musicians and programmers working across time zones. This isn't a simple project—it's sophisticated music hardware running complex C & C++ firmware handling audio processing to user interface design. Yet they're shipping features faster than many well-funded tech teams. In the first year of being open source, there have been three high-quality releases introducing dozens of well-received new features. This success story illustrates what I want to share today about global software development. Hello! I'm Rob. Over 25 years, I've seen software development from several angles. I've worked in a four-person startup to Amazon Prime Video. I've led teams across Poland, Slovakia, China, and the UK. I've contributed to open source projects along the way, and this has shown me that the best practices in big-tech and open source are more similar than you think. My thesis is simple: three fundamental principles drive the success of open source projects and tech giants: Asynchronous communication first The importance of quality documentation A clear customer focus. These principles sound simple and obvious. But implementing them requires challenging deeply held assumptions about how good software teams work. Seeing Both Sides I recently contributed to the Deluge project; adding new features, reviewing pull requests and realised I’m collaborating with developers from New Zealand to New York building complex software at scale, without essential infrastructure in our day jobs. No daily stand-ups. No quarterly planning. No ‘management’. But it’s working really well. My GitHub activity shows I’ve collaborated with over ten developers across various time zones in two months. Thinking back, Amazon's structured corporate processes and open source's volunteer-led approach share similarities in their operations. Avoid Always-On Communication Hi! Got a minute?

Mar 14, 2025 - 11:47

Global collaboration: What open source and big tech can teach us

Let me introduce the Synthstrom Deluge - a 'groove box'. It lets musicians create complete electronic music tracks from scratch. Electronic music has become my latest hobby. I've yet to produce any hits during my months of tinkering, but what makes this device fascinating isn't just its capabilities. Two years ago, Synthstrom made a bold move: they released the device firmware as open source.

The Deluge’s open source firmware development processes are relaxed by corporate standards. No roadmaps, sprint planning, or formal hierarchies. Just a global group of musicians and programmers working across time zones. This isn't a simple project—it's sophisticated music hardware running complex C & C++ firmware handling audio processing to user interface design. Yet they're shipping features faster than many well-funded tech teams.

In the first year of being open source, there have been three high-quality releases introducing dozens of well-received new features.

This success story illustrates what I want to share today about global software development.

Hello!

I'm Rob. Over 25 years, I've seen software development from several angles. I've worked in a four-person startup to Amazon Prime Video. I've led teams across Poland, Slovakia, China, and the UK.

I've contributed to open source projects along the way, and this has shown me that the best practices in big-tech and open source are more similar than you think.

My thesis is simple: three fundamental principles drive the success of open source projects and tech giants:

Asynchronous communication first
The importance of quality documentation
A clear customer focus.

These principles sound simple and obvious. But implementing them requires challenging deeply held assumptions about how good software teams work.

Seeing Both Sides

I recently contributed to the Deluge project; adding new features, reviewing pull requests and realised I’m collaborating with developers from New Zealand to New York building complex software at scale, without essential infrastructure in our day jobs. No daily stand-ups. No quarterly planning. No ‘management’. But it’s working really well. My GitHub activity shows I’ve collaborated with over ten developers across various time zones in two months.

Thinking back, Amazon's structured corporate processes and open source's volunteer-led approach share similarities in their operations.

Avoid Always-On Communication

Hi! Got a minute?