Towards a reference framework for open source software adoption

Nowadays, the use of Open Source Software (OSS) components has become a driver for the primary and secondary information technology (IT) sector, among other factors, by the openness and innovation benefits that can give to the organizations, regardless of its business model and activities' nature. Nevertheless, IT companies and organizations still face numerous difficulties and challenges when making the strategic move to OSS. OSS is aligned with new challenges, which mainly derive from the way OSS is produced and the culture and values of OSS communities. In fact, OSS adoption impacts far beyond technology, because it requires a change in the organizational culture and reshaping IT decision-makers mindset. Therefore, this research work proposes a framework to support OSS adopters (i.e., software-related organizations that develop software and/or offer services relate to software) to analyze and evaluate the impact of adopting OSS as part of their software products and/or services offered to their customers/users, mainly in terms of their software related activities.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

An analysis of the adoption of OSS by local public administrations: Evidence from the Emilia-Romagna Region of Italy

The wide diffusion of open source software (OSS) is driving discussion among scholars on a set of issues, including its adoption by public administrations (PA). Previous works only discussed one or a few factors that drive the decision to adopt OSS and did not addressed the potential benefits in terms of e-government that OSS may bring to PA. Our paper attempts to fill these gaps. The analysis is based on the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and studies the adoption of software (both proprietary and open source) by local PA. The results show there is increased adoption of OSS in several different domains of application, both servers and desktop clients. Among the motivations to adopt OSS, only dependence on software suppliers seems to be important. Its adoption also positively affects the variety and extent of interactivity of local public e-services.open source software; public administration; online public services; empirical research

Some Policy Issues on Open Source and Proprietary Software

Software industry is a fast growing sector of the economy which is undergoing significant changes both for the presence of the open source mode of production and for the challenges of globalization and convergence with other industries. This paper analyses the role of open source software (OSS) on competition and innovation in the software industry and debates the economic rationales for promoting the adoption of OSS by national and local governments.software industry, open source software, patent system

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Promoting Scalability and Sustainability of ICT4D Projects Using Open Source Software

There is an increasing consensus that information and communication technologies (ICTs) bring an opportunity for developing countries to reach development goals in various areas, yet a large number of the projects that utilize ICT for development (ICT4D) are considered full or partial failures. One of the most critical challenges identified is that ICT4D practice tends to produce pilot projects, but it fails to provide scalable and sustainable solutions for capacity development. Open source software (OSS), with its particular licensing scheme and community-based development method, has been touted as a possible solution to some of the problems that ICT4D practice is often claimed to cause. However, prior research has barely discussed or empirically studied the potential of OSS in promoting scalability and sustainability of ICT4D projects. This study aims to provide an answer to the research question: How to promote scalability and sustainability of ICT4D projects using open source software? The study draws from empirical research conducted in a case project to answer the research question. The author of this study participated in a capacity development project in Kenya coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and financed by the Government of Finland’s development assistance program during years 2006-2008. The project developed a software to help in computerization of agricultural cooperatives and licensed it with an open source software license, so that it could be freely used by both agricultural cooperatives and local ICT companies, in order for the latter to be able to provide support services to the cooperatives. The action case research method was sed to both introduce change to the problematic “real-life” situation and to increase understanding of the area of concern. Consequently, this study provides a detailed description how research-based insights were used to manage the sustainability and scalability issues in the case project The results of the study include an assessment of the role of open source software in promoting scalability and sustainability of ICT4D projects, which implies that OSS may lay a foundation for the creation of a business ecosystem supporting scalability and sustainability, but OSS in itself does not solve challenges related to the demand and supply of technology. In addition, the study discusses the nature of the scalability and sustainability problem and presents a model of the elements influencing scalability and sustainability of ICT4D projects. The study contributes to the field of open source software research by focusing on a type of an OSS project that has been little studied and highlights the importance of project characteristics and context. It complements the OSS in developing country research that often discusses OSS in an overly positive manner by reporting the challenges experienced in the case project. The study also contributes to the discussion of ICT4D project failure in development informatics research by improving conceptual clarity, defining the scalability and sustainability problem in detail, identifying elements influencing scalability and sustainability and by providing insights into the role of OSS in solving the scalability and sustainability problem. For practitioners involved with OSS or ICT4D projects, the study provides conceptual tools and advises against expecting simple solutions to difficult development problems.Kehitysmaiden uskotaan voivan saavuttaa kehitykseen liittyviä tavoitteitaan tieto- ja viestintäteknologiaa (engl. information and communication technologies, ICT) hyödyntämällä. Suuri osa ICT-teknologiaa hyödyntävistä kehitysyhteistyöhankkeista kuitenkin epäonnistuu osittain tai täysin. Eräs keskeinen ongelma teknologian hyödyntämisessä kehitysyhteistyössä on ollut, että toiminnan tuloksena syntyy paljon pilottihankkeita, mutta liian harvoin skaalautuvia ja kestäviä ratkaisuja kehitysmaiden toimintavalmiuksien parantamiseksi. Avoimen lähdekoodin ohjelmistoja on pidetty mahdollisena ratkaisuna ICT-teknologiaa hyödyntävien kehitysyhteistyöhankkeiden haasteisiin, sillä niitä voidaan kehittää yhteisöllisesti ja lisensointi mahdollistaa ohjelmistojen vapaan hyödyntämisen. Avoimen lähdekoodin ohjelmistojen käyttöä ICT-teknologiaa hyödyntävien kehitysyhteistyöhankkeiden skaalautuvuuden ja kestävyyden parantamisessa ei kuitenkaan ole juuri tutkittu. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on vastata seuraavaan kysymykseen: Miten ICT-teknologiaa hyödyntävien kehitysyhteistyöhankkeiden skaalautuvuutta ja kestävyyttä voidaan parantaa avoimen lähdekoodin ohjelmistoilla? Aihetta lähestytään tarkasteluun valitun hankkeen kautta empiirisesti. Hanke oli Yhdistyneiden kansakuntien elintarvike- ja maatalousjärjestön koordinoima ja Suomen kehitysyhteistyöohjelman rahoittama valmiuksien kehittämishanke, joka toteutettiin Keniassa vuosina 2006‒2008 ja johon tutkimuksen tekijä myös itse osallistui. Hankkeessa kehitettiin ohjelmisto maatalousosuuskuntien tietokoneistamisen tueksi. Tämä lisensoitiin avoimen lähdekoodin ohjelmistolisenssillä, jotta ohjelmisto olisi vapaasti hyödynnettävissä sekä osuuskunnissa että paikallisissa ICT-yrityksissä. Näin paikalliset ICT-yritykset voisivat tarjota tukipalveluita osuuskunnille. Tapaustutkimusta ja toimintatutkimusta yhdistävän tutkimusmenetelmän keinoin pyrittiin sekä ratkaisemaan hankkeen haasteita että lisäämään ymmärrystä tutkimusaiheesta. Tässä tutkimuksessa kuvataan, miten aiempaan tutkimukseen pohjautuvia näkemyksiä hyödynnettiin hankkeen skaalautuvuuteen ja kestävyyteen liittyvien haasteiden ratkaisussa. Tutkimuksen tuloksena on arvio avoimen lähdekoodin ohjelmistojen merkityksestä ICT-teknologiaa hyödyntävien kehitysyhteistyöhankkeiden skaalautuvuuden ja kestävyyden parantamisessa, minkä mukaan avoimen lähdekoodin ohjelmistoilla voidaan luoda edellytykset teknologian skaalautuvuutta ja kestävyyttä tukevan liiketoimintaekosysteemin synnylle, mutta se ei itsessään ratkaise teknologian kysyntään ja tarjontaan liittyviä haasteita. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa käsitellään skaalautuvuuden ja kestävyyden haasteen luonnetta sekä luodaan malli ICT-teknologiaa hyödyntävien kehitysyhteistyöhankkeiden skaalautuvuuteen ja kestävyyteen vaikuttavista osatekijöistä. Tämä tutkimus edistää avoimen lähdekoodin tutkimusta fokusoitumalla hanketyyppiin, jota ei ole juuri aiemmin tutkittu, korostaen hankkeiden luonteen ja kontekstin merkitystä alan tutkimuksessa. Avoimen lähdekoodin hyödyntämistä kehitysmaissa koskeva tutkimus on usein esittänyt avoimen lähdekoodin mahdollisuudet hyvin optimistisesti, jättäen haasteet vähäiselle tarkastelulle – tämä tutkimus täydentääkin alan tutkimusta raportoimalla kohteena olleen hankkeen haasteista. Lisäksi tämä tutkimus edistää kehitysyhteistyötä koskevan informatiikan tutkimuksen puitteissa käytävää keskustelua teknologiaa hyödyntävien kehitysyhteistyöhankkeiden epäonnistumisista selkeyttämällä käsitteitä, tarkentamalla skaalautuvuuden ja kestävyyden haasteen määrittelyä, tunnistamalla skaalautuvuuteen ja kestävyyteen vaikuttavia osatekijöitä sekä parantamalla ymmärrystä avoimen lähdekoodin merkityksestä haasteen ratkaisussa. Avoimen lähdekoodin hankkeiden tai teknologiaa hyödyntävien kehitysyhteistyöhankkeiden parissa toimiville tutkimus tarjoaa käsitteleellisiä työkaluja ja neuvoja, joiden mukaan vaikeisiin kehityshaasteisiin ei tule odottaa helppoja ratkaisuja.Siirretty Doriast

Myths and Realities about Online Forums in Open Source Software Development: An Empirical Study

The use of free and open source software (OSS) is gaining momentum due to the ever increasing availability and use of the Internet. Organizations are also now adopting open source software, despite some reservations, in particular regarding the provision and availability of support. Some of the biggest concerns about free and open source software are post release software defects and their rectification, management of dynamic requirements and support to the users. A common belief is that there is no appropriate support available for this class of software. A contradictory argument is that due to the active involvement of Internet users in online forums, there is in fact a large resource available that communicates and manages the provision of support. The research model of this empirical investigation examines the evidence available to assess whether this commonly held belief is based on facts given the current developments in OSS or simply a myth, which has developed around OSS development. We analyzed a dataset consisting of 1880 open source software projects covering a broad range of categories in this investigation. The results show that online forums play a significant role in managing software defects, implementation of new requirements and providing support to the users in open source software and have become a major source of assistance in maintenance of the open source projects

An Analysis of Behavioral Intention toward Actual Usage of Open Source Software among Students in Private High Learning Institution in Tanzania

This study focused on analyzing behavioral intention toward the actual USAge of open source software in private universities in Tanzania. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data in two private universities namely Iringa University and Ruaha Catholic University. Stratified sampling technique was utilized to ensure sample representativeness among two universities where simple random sampling was used to draw a sample from each stratum during the survey. Finding Using Structural Equation Modeling indicated that performance expectancy (source code production and software localization) and social factor (Vendor, internet services provider and lecturer) have a significant influence toward behavioral intention while effort expectancy was found to be insignificant. In addition the behavioral intention was found to be significant toward student\u27s actual USAge of open source software in Universities. This study recommended that for students to develop behavioral intention toward OSS actual USAge, internet service provider have to increase the level of internet services that can assist the university communities to access and download open source software. In addition, to increase actual use, open source software vendors and lecturer or experts have to make sure that their software source code is free for distribution and localization, this will increase self-motivation and interest of the students toward actual USAge of open source software