The Evolution of Open Source Software (OSS 2.0)

Brian FitzgeraldUniversity of Limerick, Ireland

Advancing Knowledge

Washington D

C

10-11 Jan 2005

Overview Paradoxes and Tensions in OSS

– Cathedral v. Bazaar: paradigm shift in software engineering?

– Collectivist v. Individualist?

Some Lessons from Large-Scale OSS Implementation (Beaumont Hospital)

Paradoxes and Tensions in OSS 2.0– Value for money v. Community values– From bazaar process to bazaar product– Microsoft as central player

Looking in

Looking out

Looking forward

“Linux is about getting freedom, personal firearms are about keeping it”

Eric Raymond (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Aug 30, 2000)

Cathedral v. Bazaar: a paradigm shift in software engineering? Yes

– Bazaar global community personal development style

– Duplication of effort – optimistic concurrency

No– Some OSS projects very cathedral-like– GNU/Linux benefits from Unix and BSD lessons– Modularity, peer review, testing, configuration

management key but well understood in s/w eng

Collectivism v. Individualism

From programmers according to skills, to users according to their needs – Bob Young– Linux largest collaborative project in history

But…– 85% of Apache user modification requests ignored

Self-deprecation/modesty (to elicit help) Supreme ability/charisma (to lead voluntary

project) ‘Engine’ driving OSS is

– Competition among individual developers/projects – Network-enabled collective collaboration among

developers/projects

Some Lessons from Large-Scale Implementation: Beaumont Hospital Free beer more important than free speech

to post-Y2K IT departments– €8m savings in s/w acquisition costs over 5 years– The Berkeley Conundrum!

Users more proactive in OSS implementation

‘Small-World’ Network Effects– Finnish hospital staff flying to Dublin– Beaumont contributing back in vertical domain

Nursing staff (>99% female) extremely receptive to OSS

Some Lessons from Large-Scale Implementation: Beaumont Hospital

But some user resistance– Fear of being deskilled– Perception that work undervalued if using free

software

Paradoxes and Tensions in OSS 2.0 Value for money v. Community Values Value for money

– Increased commercialisation– Many OSS players need to make payroll

But must adhere to acceptable community values– Sun, IBM, DaimlerChrysler – Red Hat & Animal Farm

‘Engine’ further driving OSS 2.0 is balancing this tension

Paradoxes and Tensions in OSS 2.0 Development process less bazaar-like

– Apache conferences, Zope/Plone project meetings

– Legal incorporation of OSS projects– No more ‘thrilling adventure of installing Linux’– Customers willing to pay for professional service

& support

Development product more bazaar-like– Convenient networks leveraging OSS brand (a la

LVMH)

Paradoxes and Tensions in OSS 2.0 Microsoft as a central player in OSS 2.0

– Already muddied water with Shared Source– Abstracted principles into Most Valued

Professional, Open Value initiatives

Microsoft History in OSS– Windows services for Unix– XP and 2000 use BSD code– Projects on SourceForge

© 2003-4 Simon Phipps & Sun Microsystems

Cathedral v. Bazaar