Final Thesis: A Literature Review of User-Led Open Source Consortia

Abstract: The development of increasingly complex software systems is difficult to handle,
especially for smaller entities. In addition to the use of commercial software, open source development models are therefore becoming increasingly popular. The formation of “User-Led Open Source Consortia” is one of these models. Here, several institutions join forces by pooling their resources to develop software for their own use. The resulting software is made available to the public under open source licenses.

The amount of publications on the subject is small, but has been growing steadily over the last years, with the phenomenon being named and defined in slightly different ways.

This thesis presents a qualitative literature review that examines this body of research. In the process, the various characteristics of this phenomenon will be highlighted.

Keywords: User-led open source consortia, literature review, Kuali, Sakai, openKonsequenz

PDF: Master Thesis

Reference: Markus Büttner. A Literature Review of User-Led Open Source Consortia. Master Thesis. Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg: 2022.