How do you build a feature for a real open-source project when the codebase, requirements, and users already exist?

In this lightning talk, I’ll share my journey building TeamShifts, a team and volunteer management plugin for FOSSASIA’s Eventyay platform as part of Google Summer of Code 2026.

The plugin brings calls for team members, roles, applications, shift scheduling, team assignments, certifications, and volunteer vouchers into the event-management platform instead of relying on separate tools.

I’ll give a quick look at how the project evolved from understanding an existing Django codebase to designing the plugin architecture, integrating it with Eventyay, building the application workflow, and working through GitHub issues, pull requests, code reviews, and mentor feedback.

Rather than being just a feature walkthrough, this talk is a practical look at what it is like to contribute to a real open-source project — from understanding someone else’s code and making design decisions to handling reviews and collaborating with maintainers and other contributors.

I’ll also share a few practical lessons from the journey:

Working effectively in an existing codebase
Turning requirements into features in an open-source project
Learning through code reviews and mentor feedback
Finding your place and contributing as a new open-source contributor

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