Title :
Back to the user [open source]
Author :
Messerschmitt, David G.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., California Univ., Berkeley, CA, USA
Abstract :
Open source is incomplete as a software creation process, somebody has to understand needs, design an architecture accommodating long-term evolution; create a working prototype as starting point; provide a talented; centralized person or group to coordinate and govern; and provide support, training, certification. These critical tasks hardly differ between open source and traditional processes. Application often have a diversity of uses and legitimate variations in needs that evolve over time. Efficiently capturing commonalities while accommodating variation and evolution is crucial to expanding the application base. Open source can´t accommodate this gracefully. So open source fails organizational and nonprogrammer users.
Keywords :
software development management; nonprogrammer users; open source; organizational users; software creation process; software development management; Application software; Embedded software; Open source software; Operating systems; Programming profession; Remuneration; Software debugging; Software tools; Switches; Testing;
Journal_Title :
Software, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MS.2004.1259234