New Open Compliance Resources Now Available

When we launched the Open Compliance Program in August at LinuxCon, we committed to providing additional free educational material. At launch, we had three info-packed papers you could view here or at our publications page.

I’m pleased to report the fourth paper in the series is now available. “A Glimpse Into Recommended Practices in a FOSS Compliance Management Process” by Ibrahim Haddad can be found here.

This paper is in 2 parts: part 1 covers recommended practices that map to the various steps within a FOSS compliance management end-to-end process. Part II will follow (in the November time frame) with emphasis on FOSS compliance considerations in relation to source code modifications, notices, distribution, software design, usage, linkages and code mixing. As with all materials in the Open Compliance Program, the focus is on improving operational side of compliance and increasing efficiencies.

What to expect from the Open Compliance Program before year end:

1) Self-Assessment checklist to be released 11/01/2010 as a free download – this is an extensive checklist of compliance practices found in industry-leading compliance programs. Companies can use the Self-Assessment Checklist as a confidential internal tool to assess their progress in implementing a rigorous compliance process and help them prioritize their process improvement efforts. To request a copy, please visit: http://www.linuxfoundation.org/lp/page/selfassessment-checklist-inquiry

2) additional free educational material – Part II of paper published today and new paper that focuses on the practical aspects of ensuring free and open source software (FOSS) compliance in the enterprise. The paper will focus on the process of managing compliance and examines a sample end-to-end compliance process.

Probably the most useful thing we offer is compliance training and consulting, since it often times takes an expert to work with you on implementing these practices. You can find out more about that here. Always feel free to contact me with questions or suggestions.