A design for evidence - based soft research

Liu, WenQian; Chen, Charles L.; Lakshminarayanan, Vidya; Perry, Dewayne E.

doi:10.1145/1083174.1083180

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The productivity of the contributor and overall project suffers due to the information blocking and a lack of understanding of the code base. According to estimates, information blocking consumes 60% of developers efforts [26].…”

Section: Knowledge Loss In Open Source Software Projectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Knowledge Loss in Open Source Software (OSS) Projects

Rashid

Clarke

O’Connor

2017

Communications in Computer and Information Science

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Abstract.Open Source Software is a term used to identify software developed and released under an "open source" license, meaning that under certain conditions; it is openly available for use, inspection, modification, and for redistribution free of cost (or with cost based on the license agreement). Incorporation of OSS while developing software can reduce time and cost of development. The nature of the work force (volunteers and paid) in OSS projects is transient and results in high turnover leading to knowledge loss. In this work, we explore the phenomenon of knowledge loss in OSS projects. Maintenance of OSS projects requires knowledge, typically shared asynchronously using technology-mediated channels. Knowledge sought in this manner is reactive in the sense that a developer will consult these channels looking for possible solutions or supporting information. We follow the backward snowballing to study the relevant literature on knowledge loss in OSS. Our work suggests that proactive knowledge exchange mechanisms may bring some benefits to OSS projects. Further integration of knowledge management practices with the established OSS practices can minimise knowledge loss.

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Section: Knowledge Loss In Open Source Software Projectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Knowledge Loss in Open Source Software (OSS) Projects

Rashid

Clarke

O’Connor

2017

Communications in Computer and Information Science

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“…While Ko [19] states that information blocking is not 'inherently unproductive', empirical evidence suggests that, in practice, it is. Liu et al [20], for example, find that information blocking can consume up to 60% of a developers time. Likewise Mockus et al's [21] study shows that information blocking could delay tasks by up to 0.9 of a day when the information is available in the same geographical location and by up to 2.4 days when the information has to come from a different geographical location.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An empirically-based characterization and quantification of information seeking through mailing lists during Open Source developers’ software evolution

Sharif

English

Alí

et al. 2015

Information and Software Technology

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ContextSeveral authors have proposed information seeking as an appropriate perspective for studying software evolution. Empirical evidence in this area suggests that substantial time delays can accrue, due to the unavailability of required information, particularly when this information must travel across geographically distributed sites. ObjectiveAs a first step in addressing the time delays that can occur in information seeking for distributed Open Source (OS) programmers during software evolution, this research characterizes the information seeking of OS developers through their mailing lists. MethodA longitudinal study that analyses 17 years of developer mailing list activity in total, over 6 different OS projects is performed, identifying the prevalent information types sought by developers, from a qualitative, grounded analysis of this data. Quantitative analysis of the number-of-responses and response time-lag is also performed. ResultsThe analysis shows that Open Source developers are particularly implementation centric and team focused in their use of mailing lists, mirroring similar findings that have been reported in the literature. However novel findings include the suggestion that OS developers often require support regarding the technology they use during development, that they refer to documentation fairly frequently and that they seek implementation-oriented specifics based on system design principles that they anticipate in advance. In addition, response analysis suggests a large variability in the response rates for different types of questions, and particularly that participants have difficulty ascertaining information on other developer's activities. ConclusionThe findings provide insights for those interested in supporting the information needs of OS developer communities: They suggest that the tools and techniques developed in support of co-located developers should be largely mirrored for these communities: that they should be implementation centric, and directed at illustrating "how" the system achieves its functional goals and states. Likewise they should be directed at determining the reason for system bugs: a type of question frequently posed by OS developers but less frequently responded to.

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“…In [6], we discussed two important things: 1) our chain of evidence; and 2) various validity issues with the then current state of our case studies. Our main concern then was the concentration of architects from one international company.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In [6] we describe our process of defining our case study from its preparation to its evidence chain and evidence trail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Software architects in practice

Lakshminarayanan

Liu

Chen

et al. 2006

Proceedings of the 2006 Conference of the Center for Advanced Studies on Collaborative Research - CASCON '06

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We present the results of a multiple case study of how architects view and address the issues in transforming requirements into architectures in practice. Specifically we report how they view and address issues of requirements, architecture, and the transformation of requirements into architecture. We then summarize the important lessons learned from these practicing architects about this critically important step in creating and evolving software systems.

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A design for evidence - based soft research

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Exploring Knowledge Loss in Open Source Software (OSS) Projects

Exploring Knowledge Loss in Open Source Software (OSS) Projects

An empirically-based characterization and quantification of information seeking through mailing lists during Open Source developers’ software evolution

Software architects in practice

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