Structure and Dynamics of FLOSS Communities
IT Enabled Enterprise Integration & Transformation
Problem
•
The structure and dynamics of Free/Libre/Open
Source Software Communities are not well
understood, and there is little known about the
interplay between software architecture and
enterprise architecture, and its resulting impact
on the shared mental models of those involved.
Key Questions
•
•
•
•
Scoping
•
Establish system context through semi-structured
interviews and surveys
Semi-Structured Interviews
Surveys
•
Archival Analysis
Analyze project level data through archival
analysis
Researcher:
Danny Gagne (gagne@mit.edu)
•
What is the organizational structure in
FLOSS Communities?
How do these communities evolve?
How do their members migrate, and
what impact does this migration have on
the organization structure?
How does the software architecture
impact the enterprise architecture and
related communication patterns?
How is knowledge managed across the
team? Is knowledge handled differently
during different phases of the project
lifecycle? How does knowledge cross
enterprise/organizational/cultural
boundaries?
Advisors:
Jayakanth ‘JK’ Srinivasan
(jksrini@mit.edu)
Prof. Deborah Nightingale
(dnight@mit.edu)
Current Status
• Tool:
Active Development
• Data Collection: In Progress
• Case Write-Up: April
Benefits to Industry
• Tool to assist with analysis of their projects
• Improved understanding of open source
development and community
• Improved understanding of the evolution of an
open source project and its members
•Improved understanding of software architecture
and its impact on enterprise architecture
Archival Data Sources:
• Mailing Lists
• Forums
• IRC
• Blogs
• Source Control
• Presentations/Documentation
*PRELIMINARY DATA FROM PROJECT MAILING LIST