Robot Framework Foundation
Intro
In this post I am going to talk about the Robot Framework Foundation who we are and how we operate. I am making a dive into the Robot framework tool and its usage in the follow-up posts. If you have a user story you would like to tell, please do reach out!
What is the Robot Framework Foundation?
The Robot Framework tool is awesome. It has a whole ecosystem and community around it. Have you ever wondered who is working in the background to facilitate all of this? The answer is the Robot Framework Foundation. Naturally, we get a lot of support from the community and would not be here without the good people in it.
So the Robot Framework Foundation is legally a non-profit association based in Finland and governed by our articles of association and the local legislation. In practice, we maintain and develop the Robot Framework core, help and support the ecosystem and our great community. For example, we have over 12 000 members in Slack, which also is paid and supported by us.
In short, we secure that the Robot Framework tool is a competitive Open Source automation solution and stays that way. Always. The tool goes all the way back to Nokia times to the mid 2000s, but the Foundation took over when Nokia dropped the maintenance and development of the tool in 2015. The Foundation has sponsored almost 20 releases, ecosystem projects, organized RoboCon conferences and much more!
How do we operate?
In the Foundation, the power belongs to our members. An association meeting is held at least once a year in which a new Board of Directors is elected and a new action plan for the year is agreed on.
The Board Of Directors is responsible for the operations and the implementation of the action plan with the Executive Director. Workgroups are formed among the major topics in the action plan to execute the tasks.
All community members are welcome to contribute in the workgroups and volunteering to advance a topic is highly appreciated! Some of the things we are currently working on are RoboCon 2023, community education, documentation and style guide, to mention a few.
Naturally, some paid help is also used for example to maintain the webpage, bookkeeping and organizing the conference but we do rely heavily on the volunteers. If you want to contribute, do not hesitate to contact us!
Our members and how to join
We currently have 49 members from 7 different countries. The members vary from one-person shops to multi billion dollar companies, from consulting companies to highly sophisticated automation tool providers and from testing to RPA. The one common factor for everyone is Robot Framework.
There are tangible member benefits such as visibility, free RoboCon tickets, and voice and vote over the development of the tool via association meetings, but the major benefit for the members is already there -the free usage of the tool guaranteed by our members supporting the Foundation.
The Foundation is on the move. We are constantly developing new ways to bring more value to the members, the community and the users. To help us even better serve your needs, please do consider joining the Foundation. It is the easiest way to contribute.
What do we expect from the members? An active touch is welcome, but paying the annual membership fee is a good starting point. Supporting a tool you are using and benefiting from is essential not only for your business but for the whole ecosystem.
Does your organization have, for example, a style guide you could share or some other way to contribute?
If you have any further questions on what we do and how we operate, please do not hesitate to ask. Transparency is fundamental for us.
Yours truly,
Miikka Solmela
Executive Director, Robot Framework Foundation
