The Impact of Anonymous Peripheral Contributions on Open Source Software Development

Online peer production communities such as open source software (OSS) projects attract both identified and anonymous peripheral contributions (APC) (e.g., defect reports, feature requests, or forum posts). While we can attribute identified peripheral contributions (IPC) to specific individuals and OSS projects need them to succeed, one cannot trace back anonymous peripheral contributions (APC), and they can have both positive and negative ramifications for project development. Open platforms and managers face a challenging design choice in deciding whether to allow APC and for which tasks or what type of projects. We examine the impact that the ratio between APC and IPC has on OSS project performance. Our results suggest that the OSS projects perform the best when they contain a uniform anonymity level (i.e., they contain predominantly APC or predominantly IPC). However, our results also suggest that OSS projects have lower performance when the ratio between APC and IPC nears one (i.e., they contain close to the same number of APC and IPC). Furthermore, our results suggest that these results differ depending on the type of application that a project develops. Our study contributes to the ongoing debate about the implications of anonymity for online communities and informs managers about the effect that anonymous contributions have on their projects

Episodic Peripheral Contributors and Technical Dependencies in Open Source Software (OSS) Ecosystems

Despite the fact that OSS contributors tend to eschew traditional organizational hierarchies, researchers have found that, in many cases, OSS contributors make tightly coupled system designs and successfully coordinate highly interdependent tasks. Although researchers have explained how OSS contributors make tightly coupled code contributions, we do not know the characteristics of individuals who make such contributions. While previous studies have considered OSS projects as single, independent containers, I note that OSS projects do not constitute independent or standalone entities but reuse and, thus, depend one another. This reuse creates complex networks of interdependencies called “software ecosystems”. In this paper, I analyze OSS contributors who have made tightly coupled code contributions using two lenses: the core-periphery lens and the habitual-episodic lens. Based on investigating three volunteer-driven OSS projects, I found OSS contributors who make tightly coupled code contributions to have different code-contribution patterns. Interestingly, I found that half of such contributors made no previous code contributions to the sampled projects but episodically authored patches (or pull requests) that increased software coupling. Based on further investigation, I suggest a multiple-fluid-container view that accommodates software ecosystems in which multiple containers (multiple OSS projects) co-evolve with each container (each OSS project) readily accessible

Understanding Sustainable Growth in Online Communities of Open-Source Software : Case: Open Core Business

Online communities are crucial for the survival and success of companies using the open core model, as they rely on attracting developers to use their open-source software (OSS) and con-verting some of those free users into paying customers. Current research focuses on the success factors of OSS projects, motivations to contribute, and the sustained participation from the community perspective. This thesis provides the company’s point of view and adds the concept of sustainability to the growth of online communities, which makes this topic very relevant. The main objective of thesis is to uncover the characteristics of successful communities that propitiate sustainable growth, and what are the main challenges that stand in the way by finding answers to following questions, in the context of OSS. a) What is the nature and relevance of online communities of OSS? b) What are the main factors that drive sustainable growth in online communities of OSS? c) What are the barriers for sustainable growth in online communities of OSS? To achieve this understanding, the literature review widely covers the phenomenon of open-source software communities from what they are to why are they relevant, and how can the success of these online communities be measured. Finally, the current research on sustain-able growth in online communities and its success factors and barriers are covered. To expand the current knowledge on the sustainable growth of OSS communities, a case study is con-ducted by interviewing six key members that work with the community in an open core company by using the standardized open-ended interview approach and a six-phased thematic analysis. The findings of the study identify four areas to look after when planning for sustainable growth: member’s activities, communication platforms, company involvement, and product & marketing. Among the success factors, support, engagement, and recognition are brought up as some of the key drivers. On the other hand, the data suggests the main challenges are found in the form of communication barriers, inadequate resources, brand misconceptions, social issues, and challenges in product development

Qual a relevância da literatura open-source sob a perspectiva de profissionais e estudantes de graduação

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2019.Com um aumento significativo de trabalhos de pesquisa em Engenharia de Software nos últimos anos, especialmente daqueles focados no modelo Open-Source, devido à sua ascendência relativamente recente, uma questão que naturalmente surge diz respeito à sua relevância. Diante desse questionamento, esse trabalho busca investigar se a pesquisa em Engenharia de Software, focada particularmente no modelo Open-Source, produz resultados considerados relevantes na percepção dos usuários. Para investigar a relevância percebida da literatura disponível nós conduzimos dois Surveys: um na Universidade de Brasília (UnB), em que nós convidamos os estudantes a avaliar a relevância de ideias e resultados contidos em sumários construídos a partir de trabalhos de pesquisa publicados em um período de dez anos, e outro com profissionais e pesquisadores que contribuem de alguma forma com as comunidades Open-Source, onde a relevância de artigos publicados em um período de cinco anos foi avaliada com base na leitura do título e resumo originais dos trabalhos. Dessa forma, é possível apresentar um feedback dos estudantes, profissionais e pesquisadores, possibilitando o discernimento de questões de pesquisa que são consideradas relevantes e consequentemente passíveis de serem disseminadas dentro da comunidade Open-Source e acadêmica. Durante a investigação da relevância dos trabalhos selecionados, a abordagem proposta considerou duas questões: Uma sobre o escopo dos trabalhos identificados e outra sobre a relevância percebida desses trabalhos. Para a primeira questão, foram conduzidos dois mapeamentos sistemáticos da literatura em bases distintas, os quais revelaram um conjunto de trabalhos compostos por uma grande diversidade de resultados. Utilizando sumários elaborados a partir desses trabalhos para o primeiro Survey e os próprios resumos para o segundo, foram então aplicados os Surveys aos estudantes, profissionais e pesquisadores. Nossos achados representam um cenário muito favorável para a pesquisa voltada ao modelo open source, indicando que 77.01% dos estudantes consideram os trabalhos relevantes e que 80.56% dos pesquisadores e desenvolvedores também consideraram os trabalhos como relevantes.The number of Software Engineering research papers has grown significantly over the last few years, especially those related to the open source model. Naturally, this fact raises the question of whether the research on these areas are considered to be relevant or not. This paper aims at accessing the perspective of the open source community as well as the perspective of undergraduate students regarding the relevance of the open source research. To answer about the relevance of available work, two questions were addressed: one about the scope of the studies and another about the perceived quality of these works. For the first one, two Systematic Literature Mappings were performed, each for a different survey to be conducted, revealing two set of works composed by a great diversity of results. Using these identified works, two different surveys were conducted, one with developers and researchers from several open source communities around the world and another at University of Brasília (UnB) where undergraduate students of Computer Science and related courses were invited to rate the relevance of the selected research papers. Both surveys revealed a very positive outlook on the relevance of this research area, where 77.01% of the students and 80.56% of the the open source practitioners rated the works as relevant. With these results, in addition to providing an overview of the current open source research scenario, it is also possible to give feedback from the open source community and students, providing a way to produce useful and, consequently, more disseminated works among open source practitioners

Modeling the Effects of Diversity and Corporations on Participation Dynamics in FLOSS Ecosystems

A multitude of societal issues associated with the development of technology have emerged over the years including, but not limited to: insufficient personnel for maintenance; a lack of accessibility; the spread of harmful tools; and bias and discrimination against marginalized groups. I propose that a systems perspective is necessary to identify potential leverage points in technology production systems to influence them towards increased social good and evaluate their effectiveness for intervention. Toward this end, I conducted a mixed-methods study of a widely-adopted approach in tech production, free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) development. A survey was distributed to elicit responses from FLOSS project contributors to characterize their perceptions of diversity and corporate involvement as they relate to participation decisions and information gathering activities in online platforms. To complement this, an analysis of data from FLOSS projects on GitHub was completed to model participation dynamics. Survey results indicate that contributors attend to information that is used to infer group diversity and information about corporate decision making related to FLOSS systems. Furthermore, the influence of this information on participation decisions varies on the basis of economic needs and sociopolitical beliefs. Analyses of eighteen project ecosystems, with over 9,000 contributors, reveal that projects with no to some corporate involvement generally have broader contributor and user bases than those that are owned by a company. Taken together, these findings suggest that the internal practices of companies involved in FLOSS can be perceived as opaque and controlling which is detrimental to both the expansion of a project\u27s contributor base and for increasing diversity across FLOSS ecosystems. This research highlights the need to differentiate projects on the basis of corporate involvement and community ethos to design appropriate interventions. A set of recommendations and research propositions are offered to improve inclusivity, equity, and sustainability in tech development