scholarly journals An Examination of the Use of Open Source Software Processes as a Global Software Development Solution for Commercial Software Engineering

Author(s):  
Gary Gaughan ◽  
Brian Fitzgerald ◽  
Maha Shaikh
2006 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Sieker Andreasen ◽  
Henrik Villemann Nielsen ◽  
Simon Ormholt Schrøder ◽  
Jan Stage

Open Source Software (OSS) development has gained significant importance in the production of soft-ware products. Open Source Software developers have produced systems with a functionality that is competitive with similar proprietary software developed by commercial software organizations. Yet OSS is usually designed for and by power-users, and OSS products have been criticized for having little or no emphasis on usability. We have conducted an empirical study of the developers’ opinions about usability and the way usability engineering is practiced in a variety of OSS projects. The study included a questionnaire survey and a series of interviews, where we interviewed OSS contributors with both technical and usability backgrounds. Overall we found that OSS developers are interested in usability, but in practice it is not top priority, and OSS projects rarely employs systematic usability evaluation. Most of the efforts are based on common sense. Most developers have a very limited understanding of usability, and there is a lack of resources and evaluation methods fitting into the OSS paradigm.


Author(s):  
Sofiane Sahraoui

Open source software (OSS) development has been a trend parallel to that of agile software development, which is the highly iterative development model following conventional software engineering principles. Striking similarities exist between the two development processes as they seem to follow the same generic phases of software development. Both modes of development have less emphasis on planning and design and a more prominent role for implementation during the software engineering process. This chapter expounds on this connection by adopting an agile perspective on OSS development to emphasize the similarities and dissimilarities between the two models. An attempt is first made to show how OSS development fits into the generic agile development framework. Then, the chapter demonstrates how the development process of Mozilla and Apache as two of the most famous OSS projects can be recast within this framework. The similarity discussed and illustrated between agile and OSS development modes is rather limited to the mechanics of the development processes and do not include the philosophies and motivations behind development.


Author(s):  
Walt Scacchi

This paper examines what is known about the role of open source software development within the world of game mods and modding practices. Game modding has become a leading method for developing games by customizing or creating Open Source Software extensions to game software in general, and particularly to proprietary closed source software games. What, why, and how OSS and closed source software come together within an application system is the subject for this study. Observational and qualitative is used to highlight current practices and issues that can be associated with software engineering and game studies foundations with multiple examples of different game mods and modding practices are identified throughout this study.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 1523
Author(s):  
Javier Conde ◽  
Sonsoles López-Pernas ◽  
Alejandro Pozo ◽  
Andres Munoz-Arcentales ◽  
Gabriel Huecas ◽  
...  

Although many courses in computer science and software engineering require students to work on practical assignments, these are usually toy projects that do not come close to real professional developments. As such, recent graduates often fail to meet industry expectations when they first enter the workforce. In view of the gap between graduates’ skills and industry expectations, several institutions have resorted to integrating open-source software development as part of their programs. In this pilot study, we report on the results of the contributions of eleven students to the FIWARE open-source project as part of their final year project. Our findings suggest that both teachers and students have a positive perception towards contributing to the FIWARE open-source initiative and that students increased their knowledge of technologies valued by the industry. We also found that this kind of project requires an additional initial effort for the students as well as for the instructor to monitor their progress. Consequently, it is important that the instructors have previous experience in FIWARE, as many of the students need help during the process.


2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Mauerer ◽  
Michael C. Jaeger

AbstractSoftware engineering in open source projects faces similar challenges as in traditional software development (coordination of and cooperation between contributors, change and release management, quality assurance, …), but often uses different means of solving them. This leads to some salient distinctions between both worlds, especially with respect to communication and how technical issues are addressed. The variations within open source software (OSS) communities are considerable, and many different approaches are currently in use, ranging from informal conventions to highly systematic, formally specified and rigidly applied processes. We discuss the archetypal best practises in the field, illustrate them by presenting example projects, and provide a comparison to traditional approaches.


2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 52-65
Author(s):  
Sofiane Sahraoui ◽  
Noor Al-Nahas ◽  
Rania Suleiman

Open source software (OSS) development has been a trend parallel to that of agile software development, which is the highly iterative development model following conventional software engineering principles. Striking similarities exist between the two development processes as they seem to follow the same generic phases of software development. Both modes of development have less emphasis on planning and design and a more prominent role for implementation during the software engineering process. This article expounds on this connection by adopting an agile perspective on OSS development to emphasize the similarities and dissimilarities between the two models. An attempt is first made to show how OSS development fits into the generic agile development framework. Then, the article demonstrates how the development process of Mozilla and Apache as two of the most famous OSS projects can be recast within this framework. The similarity discussed and illustrated between agile and OSS development modes is rather limited to the mechanics of the development processes and do not include the philosophies and motivations behind development.


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