Managing multiple podlings across the Apache Incubator requires synthesising data from multiple disconnected sources: Confluence reports, GitHub activity, mailing lists, Whimsy, with no single view of the full picture. This talk introduces a set of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers built to change that. The tooling spans multiple connected servers: a podlings server reading lifecycle data directly from podlings.xml, an apache-health server exposing commit and community metrics, an incubator-mail server providing searchable access to general@incubator.apache.org, and an IPMC synthesis layer that combines all three into watchlists, graduation readiness assessments, podling briefs, and stall detection. The talk will demonstrate real workflows: monthly IPMC oversight passes, mentor check-ins on specific podlings, identifying chronically stalled projects, and cross-referencing report narratives against health metrics to spot where the two tell different stories. It will also explore a bigger question the tooling raises - Could AI-assisted oversight change the need, frequency, or format of podling reports themselves?

Speakers:

Justin Mclean: ASF Director, VP ASF Incubator, Datastrato Community Manager

Justin Mclean is a long-time contributor to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) and currently serves as VP of the ASF Incubator and a member of the ASF Board of Directors. Over several years, he has contributed to evolving the Incubator’s governance, policies, and training programs, including documenting how projects operate in practice and analysing the Incubator’s history. Through this work, he has supported hundreds of open source projects in building sustainable and independent communities.

He has extensive experience guiding projects from early incubation through to successful graduation, and has reviewed over a thousand open source releases. His work focuses on open source governance, community health, and the design of systems that enable collaboration at scale.

Justin regularly speaks at international conferences on topics such as open source governance, licensing, and community building, sharing practical lessons drawn from real-world experience across a wide range of ASF projects and communities.