Research

Communication and Collaboration in Open Source Software Projects: A Hazard Model of Sourceforge projects

English: Partitioning of the matrix and commun...
English: Partitioning of the matrix and communication between processes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Open Source Software projects that grow strong and well are associated with strong core developer groups, active peripheral communication and high communication interactivity, and external testing groups. In effect, leaders and openness to outside world are the key to success. They are no mere product of wise crowds. In addition, the 80/20 rule reigns supreme. Most projects are run by a small minority that is responsible for a majority of the output.

 

This is the conclusion of a study of over 200 Sourceforge OSS projects conducted by Singh, Fan, and Tan in 2007. 

 

http://matei.org/url/singhoss

Sorin Adam Matei

Assistant Vice President for Partnerships in Strategic Defense Innnovation and Professor of Communication at Purdue University, Director of the FORCES initiative leads research teams that study the relationship between technological and social systems using big data, simulation, and mapping approaches. He published papers and articles in Journal of Communication, Communication Research, Information Society, National Interest, and Foreign Policy. He is the author or co-editor of several books. The most recent is Structural differentation in social media. He also co-edited Ethical Reasoning in Big Data,Transparency in social media and Roles, Trust, and Reputation in Social Media Knowledge Markets: Theory and Methods (Computational Social Sciences) , all three the product of the NSF funded KredibleNet project. Dr. Matei's teaching portfolio includes technology and strategy, online interaction, and digital media analytics classes. A former BBC World Service journalist, his contributions have been published in Esquire and several leading Romanian newspapers. In Romania, he is known for his books Boierii Mintii (The Mind Boyars), Idolii forului (Idols of the forum), and Idei de schimb (Spare ideas).

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