A Two Phase Case Study on Implementation of Open Source Development Practices within a Company Setting

Abstract

Implementation of open source development practices within commercial settings can bring benefits such as improved source code quality, lower maintenance costs, and increased innovation. However, a widespread in-house implementation of the practices has not been observed. The goal of this research is to understand factors which hinder the implementation. For the purpose, development practices of a large, global software and hardware organization that bases its products on open source software, and has over a decade long experience of contributing to various open source projects were studied. The results were validated through a set of structured interviews and a focus group meeting. It is found that the initial implementation of the process has not been carried out in a planned and systematic way within the company. The results of the follow-up focus group meeting show that while the company's practices acquired a higher degree of alignment over a two-year period, the change was necessitated by a need to have a more efficient development effort across new, globally distributed, development sites.