Common values power open source networks

August 18, 2005 | article by Ken Thompson in Collaboration Research & Science (47)

Open Source Software (OSS) Networks gel around common values and beliefs according to new research report.

An MIT discussion forum on Open Source Software (OSS) includes a detailed (73 page) paper, “Free Software: A Case Study of Software Development in a Virtual Organizational Culture”, by Margaret Elliott and Walt Scacchi of the Institute for Software Research at the University of California, Irvine published in April 2003.

The report starts by signalling the amazing growth of Open source software development (OSSD) projects.

It quotes the SourceForge Web site who estimate 500,000+ users with 700 new ones joining every day and a total of 50,000+ projects with 60 new ones added each day.

The report examines how the organizational cultural beliefs and values influence software development processes.

It concludes that the following four beliefs play an major role in giving these OSS networks common purpose and motivation:

Belief in Free Software

Belief in Freedom of Choice

Value in Community

Value in Cooperative Work

The OSS movement provides a wealth of information for those who wish to attain the benefits of basing their teams on more natural principles.

The full report can be downloaded in PDF by clicking here.

Comments (0) | Permalink

Email to a friend | Print this article

Comments

Click here to post a comment

Bioteams Books Reviews

Organisational teams: thin slice for responsiveness

January 22, 2007 | article by Ken Thompson in Book Reviews (37)

Humans and animals do not need complete information to act; they can operate on various clues provided there is a sufficient context. Organizational teams can also use this thin slicing technique in conjunction with short messaging to enhance their performance. Malcolm Gladwell’s introspective book Blink digs deep into the abyss of human cognition to illustrate the human ability to think at a subconscious level. The idea of thin slicing is used where one is introduced to only a few snippets of information which lead to a series of conclusions based on moments of rapid cognition – an ability claimed to be intrinsically dormant in most humans. By bioteams guest author Max Bhanabhai.

Buy it now from:
Amazon.Com
Amazon.Co.UK

Comments (1) | Permalink

Click here to check all Bioteams book reviews