Overview
This presentation explains how to get started with the Trust Developers program: what we value, how we collaborate, and the practical steps to contribute high-quality, secure, and maintainable software. It is structured for a 10–15 minute delivery and includes speaker notes and resource links for deeper learning.
Slide 1: Welcome & Purpose
H3: The Why
We build software that people rely on. Trust is earned through reliability, clarity, and security. This program helps new contributors move quickly from orientation to meaningful work while maintaining team standards.
H4: Key takeaways
- Understand mission & values.
- Learn our coding and review standards.
- Ship small, iterate fast, measure impact.
Slide 2: Team Principles
H3: Core Principles
- Clarity & empathy in communication.
- Automated tests and CI for every merge.
- Small, reversible changes over big rewrites.
- Security by design, not as an afterthought.
H4: Why these matter
Following shared principles reduces risk and enables newcomers to make safe, high-impact contributions quickly.
Slide 3: Onboarding Checklist
H3: First 24 hours
- Create accounts and configure SSH/2FA.
- Access team docs and run the dev environment locally.
- Read the contributor guide, CODE_OF_CONDUCT, and SECURITY.md.
H3: First week
- Complete an easy labeled issue and submit a PR.
- Pair with a mentor for a code walkthrough.
- Add or improve tests and update docs where needed.
H5: Speaker note
Explain that mentorship accelerates trust: code + conversation = confidence.
Slide 4: Code & Review Standards
H3: Style and quality
We follow a documented style guide and enforce it via linters and formatters. PRs should be focused: one concern per PR, clear description, and screenshots for UI changes.
H4: Review checklist
- Does the change solve the stated problem?
- Are tests included & passing?
- Is the impact to performance and security minimal or documented?
- Is the changelog or release note entry added when relevant?
Slide 5: Security & Privacy
H3: Essential practices
- Use secret scanning and avoid committing credentials.
- Follow least-privilege for service accounts and API keys.
- Threat model significant features before launch.
H4: Reporting
Security issues should go to the security response channel and follow our responsible disclosure process. Keep sensitive discussion out of public issue trackers.
Slide 6: Communication & Meetings
H3: Synchronous vs. asynchronous
Use async updates (PRs, docs, status posts) for detailed work; reserve short sync calls for unblockers and alignment. Respect others' timezones when scheduling.
H4: Meeting etiquette
- Share agenda ahead of time.
- Document decisions and action items in the meeting notes.
- Record when appropriate and share a timestamped summary.
Slide 7: Measuring Success
H3: Metrics that matter
- Deployment frequency and lead time for changes.
- Mean time to recovery (MTTR) for incidents.
- Code review cycle time and PR throughput.
- User satisfaction and error rates in production.
H4: Using metrics wisely
Metrics should inform, not punish. Share context and explain trade-offs when interpreting data.
Slide 8: Growth & Learning
H3: Continuous improvement
We invest in learning: internal brown-bags, external courses, and time for open-source exploration. Encourage knowledge-sharing and documentation updates as part of the workflow.
H5: Career support
Connect engineers with mentors and give opportunities to lead small projects to grow technical and leadership skills.
Slide 9: Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them
H3: Typical mistakes
- Skipping tests or documentation to save time.
- Large PRs that are hard to review.
- Unclear commit messages and missing context.
H4: Remedies
Automate checks, split work into smaller increments, and use templates to collect the right context up front.
Slide 10: Next Steps & Resources
H3: Action items for new contributors
- Read the contributor guide and run local tests.
- Pick a labeled "good first issue" and open a draft PR.
- Schedule a 30-minute pairing session with your mentor.
H4: Official resources