Drupal Advent Calendar Day 9: How to Land an Epic Contribution Without Burning Out

Staff Reporter

Day 9 of the Drupal Advent Calendar features insights from a DrupalCon Vienna session where Matt Glaman of Acquia and Mike Herchel of Dripyard shared practical advice on how to deliver meaningful contributions to Drupal.

The session walks through the full contribution journey from identifying a problem or frustration, to pitching ideas, building consensus, forming a team, and executing the work. James emphasizes a key takeaway: contributors don’t need to work in isolation. By engaging others early and communicating needs clearly, community members can avoid burnout and bring larger contributions to life more effectively.

Rather than ending with a typical Q&A, the session invited attendees to pitch their own contribution ideas. This participatory format reflected the spirit of open source collaboration and helped show how ideas can be shaped and refined through conversation. For anyone looking to make a lasting impact in Drupal, the session underscored that successful contributions are not just about code, but about community, coordination, and support.

Reference: Advent Calendar day 9 – How to Land an EPIC Contribution in Drupal (Without Losing Your Mind) by James Shields (lostcarpark) (9 December 2025)

Drupal Advent Calendar

Contribution

DrupalCon Vienna 2025

Dripyard

Open Source

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