Governance in Open Source Software Development Projects: Towards a Model for Network-Centric Edge Organizations
Abstract
Open source software development (OSSD) is a community-oriented, network-centric approach to building complex software systems. OSSD projects are typically organized as edge organizations that lack an explicit management regime to control and coordinate decentralized project work. However, a growing number of OSSD projects are developing, delivering, and supporting large-scale software systems that are displacing proprietary software alternatives. The U.S. Department of Defense is now committed to the adoption and deployment of software-intensive systems with open architectures and OSS components for application areas including command and control systems. Recent empirical studies of OSSD projects reveal that OSS developers often self-organize into organizational forms we characterize as evolving socio-technical interaction networks (STINs). These STINs emerge in ways that effectively control semi-autonomous OSS developers and coordinate project activities to produce reliable and adaptive software systems. In this paper, we examine how practices and processes enable and govern edge organizations like OSSD projects when coalesced and configured as contingent, sociotechnical interaction networks. In so doing, we draw on results from two ongoing case studies of governance activities and elements in a small and a large OSSD project.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA486838
Entities
People
- Chris Jensen
- Walt Scacchi
Organizations
- University of California, Irvine