Title: An evaluation criterion for open source software projects: enhancement process effectiveness

Authors: Amir Hossein Ghapanchi; Aybuke Aurum

Addresses: School of Information and Communication Technology, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. ' School of Information Systems, Technology and Management, The University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia

Abstract: Enhancement process is a key process in which open source software (OSS) project responds to user needs in terms of suggesting and implementing software features, thus the dimension of enhancement effectiveness corresponds nicely to adopters| concern about open source software. This study aims to construct a valid, reliable measurement model for the enhancement process effectiveness in an open source environment. We examine the validity and reliability of an initial list of indicators through two rounds of data collection and analysis from 240 and 750 OSS projects respectively, and come up with a measurement model for the effectiveness of enhancement process comprising four indicators. The implication of this measurement model for practitioners is explained through a numerical example followed by implications for research community.

Keywords: open source software; OSS; change management; information system evaluation; enhancement process.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISCM.2011.044508

International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management, 2011 Vol.5 No.3, pp.193 - 208

Received: 24 Mar 2011
Accepted: 15 Jul 2011
Published online: 29 Nov 2014 *

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