The distributed open source software development model : Observations on communication, coordination and control

TL;DR: From the analysis, it is found that the advantages of temporal and geographical distance dominate in OSS, rather than their associated problems, and socio-cultural distance is lowered by active developer selection.

Abstract: There are many reasons why an organisation should consider adopting distributed development of software systems and applications, including access to a larger labour pool and a broader skills base, cost advantages, and round the clock working However, distributed development presents many challenges stemming from the complexity of maintaining good communication, coordination and control when teams are dispersed in time (eg across time zones) and space, as well as socio-culturally The open source software (OSS) development model is distributed by nature, and many OSS developments are considered success stories The question therefore arises of whether traditional distributed development models can be improved by transfer of successful practice from OSS development models In this paper we compare OSS with traditional distributed development models using a framework-based analysis of the extant literature From our analysis we find that the advantages of temporal and geographical distance dominate in OSS, rather than their associated problems Further, socio-cultural distance is lowered by active developer selection However, there is a challenge to satisfying project goals when personal goals dominate