_index.html

---
title: Selenium Project Governance
linkTitle: governance
aliases: ["/governance/"]
---

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<div class="mx-auto p-4">
	<h1 class="d-1 text-center">Selenium Project Governance</h1>
	<p class="lead mt-3 mb-0">
    The Selenium Project is committed to maintaining fair, transparent, and inclusive governance practices that serve the broader 
    community's interests. This document establishes the foundational procedures and principles that guide our day-to-day operations 
    and decision-making processes. 
	</p>
</div>
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<div class="row -bg-selenium-cyan-20 justify-content-center">
  <div class="col-12 px-5 pt-5 bg-transparent">
    <h2>Governance Objective</h2>
    Our governance framework is designed to achieve three core objectives:
    <p>
    <p>
    <b>Inclusive Participation</b> 
    <br>We ensure that all individuals, regardless of background or affiliation, have meaningful 
    opportunities to contribute to Selenium's development and direction.
    </p>
    
    <p>
    <b>Corporate Balance</b>
    <br>We maintain safeguards against undue corporate influence while preventing any single entity 
    from compromising the project's independence or community-driven nature.
    </p>
    
    <p>
    <b>Reciprocal Value</b>
    <br> We create structures that encourage organizations benefiting from Selenium to contribute back to the 
    project's sustainability and growth.
    </p>

    <br>This document outlines the roles, responsibilities, and processes that define how various 
    types of contributors work within the Selenium project.
    </div>
    </div>

<div class="row -bg-selenium-cyan-20 justify-content-center">
  <div class="col-12 px-5 pt-5 bg-transparent">
    <h2>Roles and Responsibilities</h2>
    <ul>
        <li><a href="#users">Users</a></li>
        <li><a href="#contributors">Contributors</a></li>
        <li><a href="#triagers">Triagers</a></li>
        <li><a href="#project-committers">Committers</a></li>
        <li><a href="#technical-leadership-committee-tlc">Technical Leadership Committee Members</a></li>
        <li><a href="#project-leadership-committee-plc">Project Leadership Committee Members</a></li>
    </ul>
  </div>
  <div class="col-11 p-5 bg-transparent border-bottom border-dark">
    <div class="pb-5">
      <h3 id="users">Users</h3>

      Users are community members who have a need for the project. Anyone can be a
      User; there are no special requirements. Common User contributions include:
      <ul>
          <li>
              Evangelizing the project (e.g., display a link on a website and raise
              awareness through word-of-mouth)
          </li>
          <li>
              Informing strengths and weaknesses from a new user perspective
              (e.g., raising a bug as a GitHub issue, proposing a new feature)
          </li>
          <li>
              Providing moral support (a "thank you" goes a long way)
          </li>
      </ul>
      Users who continue to engage with the project and its community will often
      become more and more involved. Such Users may find themselves becoming
      Contributors, as described in the next section.
    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h3 id="contributors">Contributors</h3>

      Contributors are community members who contribute in concrete ways to the project,
      most often in the form of code and/or documentation in the respective project repository. 
      Anyone can become a contributor, and contributions can take many forms, other than code contributions, e.g.:
      <ul>
          <li>
            <p class="m-0">
              Actively help other users through any of the <a href="#communication-channels">communication channels</a>
              made for that purpose.
            </p>
          </li>
          <li>
              Triage GitHub issues.
          </li>
           <li>
              Translate Selenium Documentation in languages project support. 
          </li>
         <li>
              Organize and collaborate in Selenium meetups, events and conferences.
          </li>
      </ul>

      <p>
        There is no expectation of commitment to the project, no specific skill requirements,
        and no selection process.
        Some Contributors might have some basic privileges to the GitHub repos to which they have contributed, based on
        their type of contribution (e.g., close an issue after triaging it).
      </p>

      <p>
        Contributors have read-only access to source code and submit changes via pull
        requests. Contributor pull requests have their contribution reviewed and merged
        by a <a href="#technical-leadership-committee-tlc">Technical Leadership Committee (TLC)</a>
        member or a Committer. TLC members and Committers work with Contributors
        to review their code and prepare it for merging.
      </p>

      <p>
        As Contributors gain experience and familiarity with the project, their profile within,
        and commitment to, the community will increase. At some stage, they may find themselves
        being nominated for the Committer role by an existing Committer or TLC member.
      </p>
    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h3 id="triagers">Triagers</h3>
      As contributors grow into the project they will be added as members of the triage team. Their
      role is to help triage issues and potentially submit Pull Requests in the github repos with fixes or at least a
      failing test to help committers recreate the issue.

      <h4 class="pt-4">Process for becoming a triager</h4>
      <ol>
          <li>
              Add the GitHub user to <code>selenium-triage</code> GitHub team
          </li>
          <li>
              Invite to Slack team chat room (<code>selenium-tlc</code>)
          </li>
          <li>
              Tweet congratulations to the new triager from the SeleniumHQ Twitter account
          </li>
      </ol>
    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h3 id="project-committers">Project Committers</h3>

      <p class="pb-4">
        Committers are contributors who have shown that they are committed to the
        continued development of the project through ongoing engagement with the project.
        Committers are given push access to the project's GitHub repos where they
        contribute to. Example getting access to the selenium-docker repository for those contribute to it. 
      </p>

      <p class="fw-bold">
        Committers:
      </p>
      <ul>
          <li>
              Should bring their proposals for large changes to the project's code first to
              a GitHub issue, and all relevant committers should be pinged so they can weigh
              in on the discussion if desired.
          </li>
          <li>
              Debates between committers about whether code should be merged should happen
              in GitHub pull requests to keep the project decision history.
          </li>
          <li>
              In general any committer can review and merge a pull request. Committers
              should only merge code they are qualified to review, which might entail pinging
              another committer who has greater ownership over a specific code area.
          </li>
          <li>
              May label and close issues.
          </li>
      </ul>

      <h4 class="pt-3">Becoming a committer</h4>

      <ul>
          <li>
              One must have shown a willingness and ability to participate in the project as
              a team player.
          </li>
          <li>
              Committers are expected to be respectful of every community member and to work
              collaboratively in the spirit of inclusion.
          </li>
          <li>
              Have submitted sufficient substantive contributions to one or more of the
              different projects (Selenium IDE, Docker-Selenium, Selenium Client Bindings, WebSite & Docs). 
              Normally 10 substantive contributions are needed to qualify as a candidate to be a committer, but there
              could be cases where the contributions are substantial enough or technically significant enough that a fewer
              number is also acceptable.
          </li>
      </ul>

      <p class="pb-3">
        New Committers can be nominated by any existing Committer or TLC member. Once
        they have been nominated, the TLC members will seek a decision based on a
        <a href="#consensus-seeking-process">Consensus Seeking Process</a>.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-3">
        It is important to recognize that having the Committer role is a privilege, not
        a right. That privilege must be earned and once earned, it can be removed by
        the TLC members by a standard TLC motion. However, under normal circumstances
        the Committer role will exist for as long as the Committer wishes to continue
        engaging with the project.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-3">
        A Committer who shows an above-average level of contribution to the project,
        particularly with respect to its strategic direction and long-term health, may
        be nominated to become a TLC member, described below.
      </p>

      <h4>Process for Adding Committers</h4>
      <ol>
          <li>
              Add the GitHub user to relevant GitHub team:
              <ul>
                  <li>
                      <code>selenium-committers</code> for the main Selenium repo
                  </li>
                  <li>
                      <code>selenium-ide</code> for the main Selenium IDE repo
                  </li>
                  <li>
                      <code>selenium-docs-and-site</code> for the website and documentation repo
                  </li>
                  <li>
                      <code>selenium-docker</code> for the Docker-Selenium repo
                  </li>
              </ul>
          </li>
          <li>
              Invite to Slack team chat room (<code>selenium-committers</code>)
          </li>
          <li>
              Tweet congratulations to the new committer from the SeleniumHQ Twitter account
          </li>
      </ol>

      <p>
        To see the list of current Committers please click <a href="/project/structure">here</a>.
      </p>

    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h3 id="technical-leadership-committee-tlc">Technical Leadership Committee (TLC)</h3>

      <p class="pb-3">
        The technical decisions and roadmap of the Selenium project are governed by
        a Technical Leadership Committee (TLC) which is responsible for a high-level
        technical guidance of the project.
      </p>

      The TLC has final authority over this project including:
      <ul>
          <li>
              Technical direction
          </li>
          <li>
              Repository hosting
          </li>
          <li>
            <p class="m-0">
              Contribution policy (shared with the
              <a href="#project-leadership-committee-plc">Project Leadership Committee (PLC)</a>)
            </p>
          </li>
      </ul>

      <p class="pb-2">
        TLC seats are not time-limited. There is no fixed size of the TLC. The TLC
        should be of such a size as to ensure adequate coverage of important areas
        of expertise balanced with the ability to make decisions efficiently.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        The TLC may add additional members to the TLC by a standard TLC motion.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        A TLC member may be removed from the TLC by voluntary resignation, or by a
        standard TLC or PLC motion.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        No more than 1/3 of the TLC members may be affiliated with the same employer.
        If removal or resignation of a TLC member, or a change of employment by a TLC
        member, creates a situation where more than 1/3 of the TLC membership shares an
        employer, then the situation must be immediately remedied by the resignation or
        removal of one or more TLC members affiliated with the over-represented employer(s).
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        TLC members have additional responsibilities over and above those of a Committer.
        These responsibilities ensure the project has a technical viability and sustainability
        in a smooth way. TLC members are expected to review code contributions, approve
        changes to this document, and manage the copyrights within the project outputs.
      </p>

      TLC members fulfill all requirements of Committers, and also:
      <ul>
          <li>
              May merge pull requests for accepted issues upon reviewing and approving
              the changes without the need to ping other committers who might have greater ownership
              over the affected code area, given that reviewing and accepting the pull request
              does not require deep knowledge in the affected code area.
          </li>
          <li>
              Push code directly to the repos or, when necessary, create and merge their own pull
              requests once they have collected the feedback they deem necessary.
          </li>
          <li>
              Discuss once a month the technical status and project roadmap.
          </li>
      </ul>

      To become a TLC member:
      <ul>
          <li>
              Work in a helpful and collaborative way with the community.
          </li>
          <li>
              Have given good feedback on others' submissions and displayed an overall understanding
              of the code quality standards for the project.
          </li>
          <li>
              Commit to being a part of the community for the long-term.
          </li>
          <li>
              Have submitted a minimum of 20 substantive pull requests or pushed a minimum of 20
              substantive commits across the different projects (IDE, Docker-Selenium, Selenium, Site & Docs).
          </li>
      </ul>

      <p class="pb-2">
        A Committer is invited to become a TLC member by existing TLC members. A nomination
        will result in discussion and then a decision by the TLC.
      </p>

      <h4>Process for Adding TLC Members</h4>
      <ol>
          <li>
              Add the GitHub user to the <code>Selenium TLC</code> team
          </li>
          <li>
              Set the GitHub user to have the "Owner" role for the SeleniumHQ organization
          </li>
          <li>
              Invite to the Slack TLC chat room (<code>selenium-tlc</code>)
          </li>
          <li>
              Add the TLC member to the different package distribution organizations
              <ul>
                  <li>
                      NPM
                  </li>
                  <li>
                      SonarType (maven)
                  </li>
                  <li>
                      pypi.org
                  </li>
                  <li>
                      rubygems.org
                  </li>
                  <li>
                      nuget.org
                  </li>
              </ul>
          </li>
          <li>
              Tweet congratulations to the new TLC member from the SeleniumHQ Twitter account
          </li>
      </ol>

      <p>
        To see the list of current TLC members please click <a href="/project/structure/#tlc">here</a>.
      </p>
    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h3 id="project-leadership-committee-plc">Project Leadership Committee (PLC)</h3>

      <p class="pb-2">
        The overall continuity and future of the project is overseen by the Project
        Leadership Committee (PLC), which acts as a bridge between the Selenium project
        and the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC).
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        Since there are many different facets to the Selenium project, the PLC wants to
        reflect more than just people who sling code about. The PLC gets involved in
        different ways, such as whenever the project spends money, enters legal agreements,
        or has to deal with lawyers. Typically the PLC will discuss the topic with the rest
        of the community, and then a voting session will take place.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        Standard PLC seats are not time-limited. Only one person on the PLC may be affiliated with
        any given employer at a time. The PLC member count should be always
        odd so that no votes are ever tied, an ideal minimum number is 5. PLC members
        should also be active members of the community.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        Additionally, the TLC may conduct a vote to appoint one of its members to serve as an active PLC member.
        This person is not be subject to the employer restriction above, but the appointment automatically expires 
	      at the end of six months. The TLC member on the PLC will use their vote to pass on the wishes of the TLC. 
        This may require that the member hold a vote from TLC members to create consensus to be proxied up to the PLC.
        In case of a tie during a vote, the TLC representative vote will set the winning vote. 
      </p>

      To become a PLC member:
      <ul>
          <li>
              An existing PLC member steps down and suggests someone (or some people) to replace them.
          </li>
          <li>
              Be a committer or a contributor.
          </li>
          <li>
              Commit to being a part of the community for the long-term.
          </li>
          <li>
            <p class="m-0">
              The existing PLC consults with the TLC and the active Committers, who will seek a decision
              based on a <a href="#consensus-seeking-process">Consensus Seeking Process</a>
              to add or not those people.
            </p>
          </li>
          <li>
              No-one is ever suggested publicly without first discussing the idea with
              them first (to make sure that they are okay with it).
          </li>
      </ul>


      The PLC has final authority over this project including:
      <ul>
          <li>
              Project governance and process (including this policy).
          </li>
          <li>
              Contribution policy (shared with the TLC).
          </li>
          <li>
              Budget and legal related issues.
          </li>
      </ul>

      <p class="pb-2">
        The PLC also should discuss once a month the overall status of the project and any pending or
        upcoming topics.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        A PLC member may be removed from the PLC by voluntary resignation, or by a
        standard PLC motion.
      </p>

      <h4>Process for Adding PLC Members</h4>
      <ol>
          <li>
              Invite to the Slack PLC chat room (<code>selenium-plc</code>)
          </li>
          <li>
              Tweet congratulations to the new PLC member from the SeleniumHQ Twitter account
          </li>
      </ol>

      <p>
        To see the list of current PLC members please click <a href="/project/structure/#plc">here</a>.
      </p>
    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h2 id="communication-channels">Communication Channels</h2>

      <p class="pb-2">
        The project maintains various channels for providing information, supporting development
        and enabling communication between team members. Adherence to the project's
        Code of Conduct is strictly mandatory for all types of communication
        in these channels.
      </p>

      <ul>
          <li>
            <p class="m-0">
              Twitter Account <a href="https://twitter.com/seleniumhq">@seleniumhq</a>: for communicating
              and promoting news around the project or project related topics.
            </p>
          </li>
          <li>
            <p class="m-0">
              <a href="https://kiwiirc.com/nextclient/irc.libera.chat/#selenium">Chat Room</a>:
              chat for all Selenium users to seek
              help and support on problems using the project.
            </p>
          </li>
          <li>
            <p class="m-0">
              <a href="https://seleniumhq.slack.com/join/shared_invite/enQtODAwOTUzOTM5OTEwLTZjZjgzN2ExOTBmZGE0NjkwYzA2Nzc0MjczMGYwYjdiNGQ5YjI0ZjdjYjFhMjVlMjFkZWJmNDYyMmU1OTYyM2Y">
                Slack
              </a>:
              mirrors the IRC Chat room and is also used by all Selenium users to seek help and support
              on problems using the project.
            </p>
          </li>
          <li>
              Project Committers Channel, <code>selenium-committers</code> in the Slack channel mentioned above:
              private channel for members of the Project Committers team to discuss contributions and
              organise other collaborative efforts.
          </li>
          <li>
              TLC Channel, <code>selenium-tlc</code> in the Slack channel mentioned above:
              private channel for TLC members to discuss technical planning and technical project roadmap.
          </li>
          <li>
              PLC Channel, <code>selenium-plc</code> in the Slack channel mentioned above:
              private channel for PLC members to overall project planning, roadmap and related issues.
          </li>
      </ul>
    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h2 id="consensus-seeking-process">Consensus Seeking Process</h2>

      <p class="pb-2">
        The PLC and TLC follow a
        <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus-seeking_decision-making">
            Consensus Seeking
        </a>
        decision making model.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        When an agenda item has appeared to reach a consensus, the moderator will ask
        "Does anyone object?" as a final call for dissent from the consensus.
      </p>

      <p class="pb-2">
        If an agenda item cannot reach a consensus, a PLC/TLC member can call for either
        a closing vote or a vote to postpone further discussion on the issue until the next
        meeting. The call for a vote must be approved by a majority of the TSC or else the
        discussion will continue. Simple majority wins.
      </p>
    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h2 id="sponsorship">Sponsorship</h2>

      <p class="pb-2">
        The Selenium project is a member of the Software Freedom Conservancy, a 501(c)3 non-profit
        organization. The Conservancy has allowed us to pool organizational resources with other
        projects, such as Inkscape, Samba, and Wine, in order to reduce the management overhead
        associated with creating our own, dedicated legal entity.
      </p>

      <p>
        Please see more details at <a href="/sponsor">https://selenium.dev/sponsor/</a>
      </p>
    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h2>Commercial and Community Driven Projects</h2>

      <p>
        The wide use of the tools provided by the Selenium project has created a large offer of
        commercial services and open source/community driven projects. The Selenium project
        enables and encourages anyone to start any type of project or service that has as its
        objective to simplify and spread the use of Selenium across the community.
      </p>

      <p>
        Nevertheless, due to its open source, community and non-profit origin, the Selenium
        project will only mention on its website projects of the same nature based on Selenium
        or WebDriver, except on the sponsors page. If a commercial tool or project wants to be
        mentioned in the Selenium website,
        please see the <a href="#sponsorship">Sponsorship</a> section of this document.
      </p>
    </div>

    <div class="pb-5">
      <h2>Raising Issues Related to Governance</h2>

      This governance model necessarily leaves many situations unspecified. If questions arise
      as to how a given situation should proceed according to the overall goals of the project,
      the best thing to do is to open a GitHub issue and ping the PLC/TLC members.
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="col-11 px-5 py-5 bg-transparent">
    <p class="pb-2">
      This work is a derivative of the
      <a href="https://github.com/eslint/eslint/blob/master/docs/maintainer-guide/governance.md">
          ESLint Project Governance Model
      </a>
    </p>
    <p class="pb-2">
      This work is licensed under a
      <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/)">
          Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License
      </a>
    </p>
  </div>
</div>