The author describes their personal development model for Membase, a cross-platform project, detailing the setup of a working environment on OpenSolaris using a "sandbox" approach. They emphasize keeping changes isolated to minimize dependencies, which involves creating separate directories for bug fixes, compiling the entire Membase stack, and then committing changes for review. The challenge of ensuring compatibility across different platforms like SunOS, MacOSX, Ubuntu, and Debian is addressed by using scripts that automate the setup and compilation process, leveraging shared filesystems and SSH commands to build on each platform simultaneously. Despite these efficiencies, the author notes a limitation in starting Membase from the compiled location but expresses ongoing efforts to resolve this issue.