SourceForge provides abundant accessible data from Open Source Software development projects, making it an attractive data source for software engineering research. However it is not without theoretical peril and practical pitfalls. In this paper, we outline practical lessons gained from our spidering, parsing and analysis of SourceForge data.

Information systems success is one of the most widely used dependent variables in information systems research. In this paper, we identify a range of measures that can be used to assess the success of open source software (OSS) projects. We identify measures based on a review of the literature, a consideration of the OSS development process and an analysis of the opinions of OSS developers. For each measure, we provide examples of how they might be used in a study of OSS development.

The focus of this paper is to review what is known about free and open source software development (FOSSD) work practices, development processes, project and community dynamics, and other socio-technical relationships. It focuses on exploring how FOSS is developed and evolved based on an extensive review of a set of empirical studies of FOSSD projects that articulate different levels of analysis. These characterize what has been analyzed in FOSSD studies across levels that examine (i) why individuals participate; (ii) resources and capabilities supporting development activities; (iii) how cooperation, coordination, and control are realized in projects; (iv) alliance formation and inter-project social networking; (v) FOSS as a multi-project software ecosystem, and (vi) FOSS as a social movement. Next, there is a discussion of limitations and constraints in the FOSSD studies so far. Last, attention shifts to identifying emerging opportunities for future FOSSD studies that can give rise to the development of new software engineering tools or techniques, as well as to new empirical studies of software development.

Information systems success is one of the most widely used dependent variables in information systems (IS) research, but research on free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) often fails to appropriately conceptualize this important concept. In this article, we reconsider what success means within a FLOSS context. We first review existing models of IS success and success variables used in FLOSS research and assess them for their usefulness, practicality and fit to the FLOSS context. Then, drawing on a theoretical model of group effectiveness in the FLOSS development process, as well as an on-line discussion with developers, we present additional concepts that are central to an appropriate understanding of success for FLOSS. In order to examine the practicality and validity of this conceptual scheme, the second half of our article presents an empirical study that demonstrates operationalizations of the chosen measures and assesses their internal validity. We use data from SourceForge to measure the project’s effectiveness in team building, the speed of the project at responding to bug reports and the project’s popularity. We conclude by discussing the implications of this study for our proposed extension of IS success in the context of FLOSS development and highlight future

Project success is one of the most widely used dependent variables in information systems research. However, conventional measures of project success are difficult to apply to Free/Libre Open Source Software projects. In this paper, we present an analysis of four measures of success applied to SourceForge projects: number of members of the extended development community, project activity, bug fixing time and number of downloads. We argue that these four measures provide different insights into the collaboration and control mechanisms of the projects.

This paper discusses in detail a possible methodology for collecting repository data on a large number of open source software projects from a single project hosting and community site. The process of data retrieval is described along with the possible metrics that can be computed and which can be used for further analyses. Example research areas to be addressed with the available data and first results are given. Then, both advantages and disadvantages of the proposed methodology are discussed together with implications for future approaches. 1.

This paper examines and analyzes results from empirical studies that begin to outline some of the that situate how F/OSS systems are developed in different communities. In particular, examples drawn from different F/OSS project communities reveal how processes and practices for the development and propagation of F/OSS technology are intertwined and mutually situated to the benefit of those motivated to use and contribute to it. 12 The future of research in the development and use of STINs as a conceptual lens for observing and analyzing F/OSSD processes and practices seems likely to focus attention to the following topics. First, the focus of software process research is evolving to include attention to sociotechnical processes of people, resources, organizational forms, and institutional rules that embed and surround an F/OSS system, as well as how they interact and interface with one another. Such a focus draws attention to the web of socio-technical relations that interlink people in particular settings to a situated configuration of globally available Web-based artifacts and locally available resources (skills, time, effort, computing) that must collectively be mobilized or brought into alignment in order for a useful F/OSS system to be continuously (re)designed to meet evolving user needs. Second, participation in F/OSS system design, assertion of system requirements, or design decision-making is determined by effort, willingness, and prior public experience in similar situations, rather than by assignment by management or some other administrative authority. Similarly, the openness of the source code/content of a F/OSS system encourages and enables many forms of transparency, access, and ability to customize/localize a system's design to best address user/develope...

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We thank the senior editor on the manuscript, V. Sambamurthy, and the anonymous associate editor and reviewers for their many insightful suggestions on earlier

Abstract not found

We review the literature on Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development and on software development, distributed work and teams more generally to develop a theoretical model to explain the performance of FLOSS teams. The proposed model is based on Hackman’s [1] model of effectiveness of work teams, with coordination theory [2] and collective mind [3] to extend Hackman’s model by elaborating team practices relevant to effectiveness in software development. We propose a set of propositions to guide further research. 1.