Final Thesis: A Theory of Open Source Engineering Processes

Abstract: Open Source communities are largely people centric and work on customized software processes created by people while trying to solve a problem. Hence, most Open Source projects do not have formal processes or do not follow software engineering best practices. But at the same time, they are successful and the processes followed are instrumental in their success. The objective of this thesis is to build a theory of Open Source Engineering processes. This theory can be used by Open Source communities to design their own processes and to compare their processes with that of other communities. The theory is presented as categories and sub-categories and is derived from qualitative data analysis of interviews and supplemental materials. The model is then applied to three polar Open Source communities.

Keywords: Open source engineering process, open source development process, qualitative research, decision-making in open source

PDFs: Master Thesis, Work Description

Reference: Harisree Radhakrishnan. A Theory of Open Source Engineering Processes. Master Thesis, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg: 2017.