How do free/open source developers pick their tools? A Delphi study of the Debian project

Martin F. Krafft, Klaas Jan Stol, Brian Fitzgerald

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has come to play a critical role in the global software industry. Organizations are widely adopting FOSS and interacting with open source communities, and hence organizations have a considerable interest in seeing these communities flourishing. Little research has focused on the tools used to develop that software. Given the absence of formal mandate that would appear in traditional organizations, an open question is what influences a FOSS contributor's decision to adopt a tool and how workflows get established in FOSS teams. In this paper we report on a Delphi study conducted in the Debian Project, one of the largest FOSS projects. Drawing from data collected in three phases from a panel of 21 carefully selected and well-informed participants, we identified 15 factors that affect decisions to adopt tools and relate those to existing models of innovation and diffusion.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings - 5th International Workshop on Green and Sustainable Software, GREENS 2016
PublisherIEEE Computer Society
Pages232-241
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781450341615, 9781450342056
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 May 2016
Event2016 IEEE/ACM 38th IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering, ICSE 2016 - Austin, United States
Duration: 14 May 201622 May 2016

Publication series

NameProceedings - International Conference on Software Engineering
ISSN (Print)0270-5257

Conference

Conference2016 IEEE/ACM 38th IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering, ICSE 2016
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAustin
Period14/05/1622/05/16

Keywords

  • Delphi study
  • Free/open source software
  • Qualitative study
  • Tools

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'How do free/open source developers pick their tools? A Delphi study of the Debian project'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this