A Framework Analysis of the Open Source Software Development Paradigm

Open Source Software (OSS) has become the subject of much commercial interest of late. Certainly, OSS seems to hold much promise in addressing the core issues of the software crisis, namely that of software taking too long to develop, exceeding its budget, and not working very well. Indeed, there have been several examples of significant OSS success stories—the Linux operating system, the Apache web server, the BIND domain name resolution utility, to name but a few. However, little by way of rigorous academic research on OSS has been conducted to date. In this study, a framework was derived from two previous frameworks which have been very influential in the IS field, namely that of Zachman’s IS architecture (ISA) and Checkland’s CATWOE framework from Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). The resulting framework is used to analyze the OSS approach in detail. The potential future of OSS research is also discussed

A framework analysis of the open source software development paradigm

Open Source Software (OSS) has become the subject of much commercial interest of late. Certainly, OSS seems to hold much promise in addressing the core issues of the software crisis, namely that of software taking too long to develop, exceeding its budget, and not working very well. Indeed, there have been several examples of significant OSS success stories—the Linux operating system, the Apache web server, the BIND domain name resolution utility, to name but a few. However, little by way of rigorous academic research on OSS has been conducted to date. In this study, a framework was derived from two previous frameworks which have been very influential in the IS field, namely that of Zachman’s IS architecture (ISA) and Checkland’s CATWOE framework from Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). The resulting framework is used to analyze the OSS approach in detail. The potential future of OSS research is also discussed

ShinyRBase: Near real-time energy saving models using reactive programming

To document energy savings from retrofitting a building, a reliable baseline model is needed. The development and implementation of the baseline model is an important step in the measurement and verification (M&V) process. Usually, an energy analyst enters the stage, collects data, do the estimation and delivers the baseline model. The modeling work of the energy analyst is done on either a proprietary or open-source statistical software, often using a coding script. If stakeholders want an updated report on energy savings, the analyst must re-do the whole process, for example on a monthly basis. This workflow is based on an imperative programming paradigm. The analyst holds on to the code that performs the analysis and re-run the code when agreed upon. The consequence of this workflow is that stakeholders are dependent on the energy analyst and that updated energy savings results must be planned and scheduled. However, emerging M&V 2.0 technologies enables automation of the energy saving reports. This paper demonstrates how energy savings from retrofitting’s in the Norwegian food retail sector is continuously monitored and documented in a web application. The application is built using open-source tools where the baseline model is delivered through a reactive programming framework. As an energy savings baseline model, the Tao Vanilla benchmarking model (TVB) was set into production in the web application. The TVB is a linear regression model with well specified features, easy to interpret and has a history of excellent prediction performance. The proposed web application framework allows for a fast development cycle without any need-to-know web programming languages like HTML, CSS or JavaScript. The reactive framework delivers several advantages. First, the stakeholders will always have a current and real-time report on the savings. Second, complex methodologies are dynamically used by the end-user. Third, increased involvement by stakeholders and interaction with the analyst related to the methods used in the energy savings analysis leads to collaborative benefits such as faster disseminating of knowledge. These synergy effect leads to a better technical understanding from the end user perspective and enhanced practical understanding for the analyst. Finally, the paper presents an integrated look at the energy kWh savings versus the cost of the retrofitting’s

Challenges of open innovation: the paradox of firm investment in open-source software

Open innovation is a powerful framework encompassing the generation, capture, and employment of intellectual property at the firm level. We identify three fundamental challenges for firms in applying the concept of open innovation: finding creative ways to exploit internal innovation, incorporating external innovation into internal development, and motivating outsiders to supply an ongoing stream of external innovations. This latter challenge involves a paradox, why would firms spend money on R&D efforts if the results of these efforts are available to rival firms? To explore these challenges, we examine the activity of firms in opensource software to support their innovation strategies. Firms involved in open-source software often make investments that will be shared with real and potential rivals. We identify four strategies firms employ – pooled R&D/product development, spinouts, selling complements and attracting donated complements – and discuss how they address the three key challenges of open innovation. We conclude with suggestions for how similar strategies may apply in other industries and offer some possible avenues for future research on open innovation

An Approach to Transform Public Administration into SOA-based Organizations

Nowadays, Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) is widely spread in private organizations. However, when transferring this knowledge to Public Administration, it is realized that it has not been transformed in terms of its legal nature into organizations capable to operate under the SOA paradigm. This fact prevents public administration bodies from offering the efficient services they have been provided by different boards of governments. A high-level framework to perform this transformation is proposed. Taking it as starting point, an instance of a SOA Target Meta-Model can be obtained by means of an iterative and incremental process based on the analysis of imperatives and focused on the particular business context of each local public administration. This paper briefly presents a practical experience consisting in applying this process to a Spanish regional public administration.Junta de Andalucía TIC-578

Towards a re-engineering method for web services architectures

Recent developments in Web technologies – in particular through the Web services framework – have greatly enhanced the flexible and interoperable implementation of service-oriented software architectures. Many older Web-based and other distributed software systems will be re-engineered to a Web services-oriented platform. Using an advanced e-learning system as our case study, we investigate central aspects of a re-engineering approach for the Web services platform. Since our aim is to provide components of the legacy system also as services in the new platform, re-engineering to suit the new development paradigm is as important as re-engineering to suit the new architectural requirements