417 research outputs found
A Methodological Framework for Socio-Cognitive Analyses of Collaborative Design of Open Source Software
Open Source Software (OSS) development challenges traditional software
engineering practices. In particular, OSS projects are managed by a large
number of volunteers, working freely on the tasks they choose to undertake. OSS
projects also rarely rely on explicit system-level design, or on project plans
or schedules. Moreover, OSS developers work in arbitrary locations and
collaborate almost exclusively over the Internet, using simple tools such as
email and software code tracking databases (e.g. CVS). All the characteristics
above make OSS development akin to weaving a tapestry of heterogeneous
components. The OSS design process relies on various types of actors: people
with prescribed roles, but also elements coming from a variety of information
spaces (such as email and software code). The objective of our research is to
understand the specific hybrid weaving accomplished by the actors of this
distributed, collective design process. This, in turn, challenges traditional
methodologies used to understand distributed software engineering: OSS
development is simply too "fibrous" to lend itself well to analysis under a
single methodological lens. In this paper, we describe the methodological
framework we articulated to analyze collaborative design in the Open Source
world. Our framework focuses on the links between the heterogeneous components
of a project's hybrid network. We combine ethnography, text mining, and
socio-technical network analysis and visualization to understand OSS
development in its totality. This way, we are able to simultaneously consider
the social, technical, and cognitive aspects of OSS development. We describe
our methodology in detail, and discuss its implications for future research on
distributed collective practices
Modelling mailing list behaviour in open source projects: the case of ARM embedded Linux
One of the benefits firms can derive from using Open Source Software (OSS) is
informal development collaboration, and the primary tool for collaboration and coordination
are group mailing lists. The purpose of the paper is modelling mailing lists behaviour in OSS
projects, using a set of descriptors that could inform about their quality and their evolution. As
a case study, a mailing list focused on ARM embedded Linux has been selected. Messages
posted to this list from 2001 to 2006 have been extracted, and factor analysis has been applied
to obtain the underlying patterns of behaviours. Theory about communities of practice has been
used to understand the meaning of the extracted patterns. Their time distribution is finally
described. The paper provides new insights into the behaviour of mailing list as a source of
support for OSS projects and highlights the importance of an involved core of individuals
inside the communityMinisterio de Educación y Ciencia DPI2007-60128Junta de AndalucÃa. ConsejerÃa de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa P07-TIC-0262
Decision Point Analysis on Learning Process Models in FLOSS mailing Archives
Abstract. Numerous studies continue to explore the potential of social
interactions between people in Free/Libre Open Source Software
(FLOSS) environments. While the dynamics of interactions in these environments
can be understood from different perspectives, we put a particular
focus on any interactions resulting in knowledge transfer and acquisition.
As learning platforms, FLOSS communities provide immense
opportunities for improving software engineering skills. People who engage
in FLOSS activities both acquire and improve their software development
skills. For this reason, it is very helpful to understand how these
learning interactions occur. In this paper, we make use of the decision
miner in process mining to conduct our analysis. The purpose of such
an endeavour is twofold. Firstly, we provide empirical insights into how
people learn while exchanging emails in FLOSS mailing archives. Lastly,
we go a step further by providing insights behind the motivation into
learning participants' decisions on their learning paths
An Introduction to Software Ecosystems
This chapter defines and presents different kinds of software ecosystems. The
focus is on the development, tooling and analytics aspects of software
ecosystems, i.e., communities of software developers and the interconnected
software components (e.g., projects, libraries, packages, repositories,
plug-ins, apps) they are developing and maintaining. The technical and social
dependencies between these developers and software components form a
socio-technical dependency network, and the dynamics of this network change
over time. We classify and provide several examples of such ecosystems. The
chapter also introduces and clarifies the relevant terms needed to understand
and analyse these ecosystems, as well as the techniques and research methods
that can be used to analyse different aspects of these ecosystems.Comment: Preprint of chapter "An Introduction to Software Ecosystems" by Tom
Mens and Coen De Roover, published in the book "Software Ecosystems: Tooling
and Analytics" (eds. T. Mens, C. De Roover, A. Cleve), 2023, ISBN
978-3-031-36059-6, reproduced with permission of Springer. The final
authenticated version of the book and this chapter is available online at:
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36060-
Technology Capacity Development through OSS Implementation: The Case of Public Higher Education Institutions in Ethiopia
The Open Source Software (OSS) literature gives little attention to the study and practice of domain specific end-user OSS implementation in general and in the public sector of developing countries (DCs) in particular. This paper, however, investigates the trajectories of two OSS-based information systems (IS) implementation projects in a developing country (DC) context with the aim to uncover the practice-based learning and resource sharing evident among locally situated and globally dispersed developers and users. The result of the interpretative case study research shows that the OSS philosophy and practice of software development, implementation and ownership, facilitates for the emergence of practice-based learning from the sharing of implementation accounts and artifacts without sharing the same context of work. Thus, the paper argues in favor of an implementation approach that focuses on distributed practice-based experience, knowledge and resource sharing, and learning with the mediation of the information infrastructure in order to facilitate and sustain OSS-based IS implementation in DCs. The paper contributes both to the OSS and IS implementation literatures by showing the mechanisms of developing the technological capacity of indigenous groups and using the trans-situated learning model as a means to understanding the learning dynamics in OSS implementation
A biography of open source software: community participation and individuation of open source code in the context of microfinance NGOs in North Africa and the Middle East
For many, microfinance is about building inclusive financial systems to help the poor
gain direct access to financial services. Hundreds of grassroots have specialised in
the provision of microfinance services worldwide. Most of them are adhoc
organisations, which suffer severe organisational and informational deficiencies.
Over the past decades, policy makers and consortia of microfinance experts have
attempted to improve their capacity building through ICTs. In particular, there is
strong emphasis on open source software (OSS) initiatives, as it is commonly
believed that MFIs are uniquely positioned to benefit from the advantages of
openness and free access. Furthermore, OSS approaches have recently become
extremely popular. The OSS gurus are convinced there is a business case for a purely
open source approach, especially across international development spheres.
Nonetheless, getting people to agree on what is meant by OSS remains hard to
achieve. On the one hand scholarly software research shows a lack of consensus and
documents stories in which the OSS meaning is negotiated locally. On the other, the
growing literature on ICT-for-international development does not provide answers as
research, especially in the microfinance context, presents little empirical scrutiny.
This thesis therefore critically explores the OSS in the microfinance context in order
to understand itslong-term development and what might be some of the implications
for MFIs.
Theoretically I draw on the 3rd wave of research within the field of Science and
Technology Studies –studies of Expertise and Experience (SEE). I couple the
software ‘biography’ approach (Pollock and Williams 2009) with concepts from
Simondon’s thesis on the individuation of technical beings (1958) as an integrated
framework. I also design a single case study, which is supported by an extensive and
longitudinal collection of data and a three-stage approach, including the analysis of
sociograms, and email content. This case provides a rich empirical setting that
challenges the current understanding of the ontology of software and goes beyond
the instrumental views of design, building a comprehensive framework for
community participation and software sustainability in the context of the
microfinance global industry
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