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The Governance of Open Source Software Development Projects

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The Governance of Open Source Software Development Projects THE GOVERNANCE OF OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS by DANY DI TULLIO A thesis submitted to the School of Business in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada April, 2012 Copyright © Dany Di Tullio, 2012 1 Abstract This thesis investigates the following research questions: (1) What is open source project governance and how can it be conceptualized? (2) What is the relationship between the dimensions of OSS governance and the specific purposes that governance is hypothesized to serve in open source projects? (3) How do the major configurations of governance dimensions affect the performance of open source projects? Two studies were conducted to answer these questions: an exploratory qualitative study and a survey study. In the qualitative study, we clearly defined, developed, and validated the various dimensions of OSS governance. This allowed for the identification of a limited number of configurations of governance dimensions that most frequently occur in open source projects. We found that a patterning in governance dimensions takes place because dimensions are in fact interdependent. Therefore, only a fraction of the theoretically conceivable configurations of governance dimensions appear to be viable and were observed among a range of open source projects. This provided us with a preliminary understanding of how these dimensions configure to create three distinct configurations of project governance which were labeled as follows: Open Communities, Managed Communities, and Defined Communities. In the quantitative survey, we first validated these configurations of governance using cluster analysis and then tested the relationships between these configurations (clusters) and the specific purposes that governance is hypothesized to serve in open source projects, namely solve collective action dilemmas, solve coordination problems, and create a climate for project excellence, while assessing their influence on the performance of projects. The results confirmed the presence of three main governance configurations (clusters) and also showed i that open source projects that adopt a Defined Community approach to governance were the most successful. In these types of projects, the combination of a tightly managed software development process with a decentralized community management structure was found to create a balance between anarchy and control that allows these projects to benefit from one of the virtues of open source development, the open contribution and participation of a wide variety of talented developers, while avoiding the pitfalls of an uncontrolled and scattered development process. ii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my daughter, Nora Di Tullio, and to her future sibling. iii Acknowledgments I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and thanks to a number of people who have supported me throughout my entire time in the Ph.D. program at Queen’s. I am most grateful to Dr. Sandy Staples, my thesis advisor. To say that this thesis would not have been possible without Sandy’s guidance and support is an understatement. Sandy, your support was invaluable to say the least. I could not have asked for a better mentor. Thank you. Many thanks to the committee members for commenting on parts of the manuscript, and helping me think more clearly about my research: Dr. James McKeen, Dr. Kathryn Brohman, Dr. Charles Schweik, and Dr. Ahmed Hassan. I am also grateful to Queen’s School of Business and Queen’s University for providing me with a most stimulating and productive academic home for many years. Various professors at Queen’s have been inspiring and generous in sharing their thoughts and ideas, and I thank them all, too numerous to list here. I also thank the Queen’s staff for the ever-friendly and helpful support they have given me during my time at the University. I would like to especially thank Dr. Julian Barling, Associate Dean, Research, and Director of the M.Sc. and Ph.D. research programs until 2011, Annette Lilly, associate director, Teresa Touchette, graduate program assistant, Lisa Rodrigues, graduate program assistant, and Julie Clarke, manager. iv Thanks are also due to the professors and students who took part in the questionnaire development phase of my thesis in addition to colleagues as well as open source practitioners who took the time to comment on my work. The quality of the research was greatly enhanced by their assistance. This thesis is dedicated to my daughter, Nora Di Tullio, born in November 2010 (and to her future sibling) when I was in the thick of my thesis research (while also working a full- time job!). Nora, you have brought immense joy to my life and provided me with a welcomed distraction to what was then a very hectic life! I would also like to express much gratitude to my family. I would like to thank Dr. Véronique Muschang, my life partner, who having defended her thesis a few years before me understood better than anyone else what I was going through. Thank you for your unconditional support. I would also like to thank my parents, Donato and France Di Tullio; and my brother, Ian, for their love and support over the years. Also, many thanks to Dr. Bouchaib Bahli, my M.Sc. thesis advisor, who many years ago gave me invaluable advice on pursuing a Ph.D. and then supported me in the application process. Finally, to all those who kept asking me how my thesis was coming along over the years, let it be known that from now on my answer will always be the same: I’m done! v Table of Contents Abstract........................................................................................................................................ i Dedication .................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ xiv List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ xxiv Chapter 1 - Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1. Topic Overview ................................................................................................................... 1 2. Defining Open Source Software Development Projects ...................................................... 3 3. Research Questions and Goals .......................................................................................... 4 4. Expected Contributions....................................................................................................... 6 4.1 Contributions to Theory .............................................................................................. ....6 4.2 Contributions to Practice ............................................................................................ ....9 5. Outline of Dissertation .......................................................................................................10 Chapter 2 – Literature Review ................................................................................................... 11 1. Open Source Software Development ................................................................................. 11 1.1 Historical Overview of Open Source Software Development ...................................... ..11 1.2 Comparing Proprietary Software Development to Open Source Software .................. ..13 1.2.1 What ......................................................................................................................19 1.2.2 Why .......................................................................................................................20 1.2.3 When and Where ...................................................................................................22 1.2.4 How .......................................................................................................................23 1.2.5 Who .......................................................................................................................25 2. Review of Open Source Software Development Research Literature ................................27 2.1 Descriptive Research ................................................................................................. ..28 2.2 Success/Performance ................................................................................................ ..30 2.3 Adoption ..................................................................................................................... ..36 2.4 Participation ............................................................................................................... ..39 2.5 Structure .................................................................................................................... ..46 2.6 Software Quality ......................................................................................................... ..49 2.7 Knowledge/Software Reuse ......................................................................................
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