@article {9998, title = {Functional and Visionary Leadership in Self-Managing Virtual Teams}, journal = {Group \& Organization Management}, volume = {46}, year = {2021}, month = {04/2021}, pages = {424{\textendash}460}, abstract = {

In this conceptual article, we present a theory of leadership in self-managing virtual teams. We describe leadership in this setting as a process that results in the creation, reinforcement and evolution of shared mental models and shared norms that influence team member behaviour towards the successful accomplishment of shared goals. We distinguish two types of leadership. We identify leadership that works within and reinforces existing models and norms to influence team contributions as {\textquotedblleft}functional{\textquotedblright} leadership. We identify leadership that results in changes in models and norms as {\textquotedblleft}visionary{\textquotedblright} leadership. We propose that successful self-managing virtual teams require both types of leadership and that they will exhibit a paradoxical combination of shared, distributed functional leadership complemented by strong, concentrated and centralized visionary leadership and that visionary leadership is enabled by functional leadership in the form of substantive team member contributions.

}, keywords = {functional leadership, Leadership, Self-managing teams, structuration theory, virtual teams, visionary leadership}, doi = {10.1177/1059601120955034}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/1059601120955034_0.pdf}, author = {Eseryel, U. Yeliz and Kevin Crowston and Heckman, Robert} } @proceedings {9999, title = {Coordination in OSS 2.0: ANT Approach}, year = {2019}, abstract = {

Open source software projects are increasingly driven by a combination of independent and professional developers, the former volunteers and the later hired by a company to contribute to the project to support commercial product development. This mix of developers has been referred to as OSS 2.0. However, we do not fully understand the multi-layered coordination spanning individuals, teams, and organizations. Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT), we describe how coordination and power dynamics unfold among developers and how different tools and artifacts both display activities and mediate coordination efforts. Internal communication within an organization was reported to cause broken links in the community, duplication of work, and political tensions. ANT shows how tools and code can exercise agency and alter a software development process as an equivalently active actor of the scene. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the changing nature of open source software development.

}, keywords = {actor-network theory, free/libre open source, Stigmergy}, doi = {10.24251/HICSS.2019.120}, url = { http://hdl.handle.net/10125/59538}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/hicss52a-sub2136-cam-i8-2.pdf}, author = {Sangseok You and Kevin Crowston and Jeffery Saltz and Yatish Hegde} } @article {9999, title = {Core-periphery communication and the success of free/libre open source software projects}, journal = {Journal of Internet Services and Applications}, volume = {8}, year = {2017}, abstract = {We examine the relationship between communications by core and peripheral members and Free/Libre Open Source Software project success. The study uses data from 74 projects in the Apache Software Foundation Incubator. We conceptualize project success in terms of success building a community, as assessed by graduation from the Incubator. We compare successful and unsuccessful projects on volume of communication and on use of inclusive pronouns as an indication of efforts to create intimacy among team members. An innovation of the paper is that use of inclusive pronouns is measured using natural language processing techniques. We also compare the volume and content of communication produced by core (committer) and peripheral members and by those peripheral members who are later elected to be core members. We find that volume of communication is related to project success but use of inclusive pronouns does not distinguish successful projects. Core members exhibit more contribution and use of inclusive pronouns than peripheral members. }, keywords = {Apache Software Foundation, communication, core and periphery, free/libre open source software (FLOSS), inclusive pronouns, natural language processing, project success}, doi = {10.1186/s13174-017-0061-4}, url = {http://rdcu.be/uguP}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/170707\%20JISA\%20final.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Shamshurin, Ivan} } @proceedings {2010, title = {Machine Learning and Rule-Based Automated Coding of Qualitative Data}, year = {2010}, month = {10/2010}, address = {Pittsburgh, PA}, abstract = {Researchers often employ qualitative research approaches but large volumes of textual data pose considerable challenges to manual coding. In this research, we explore how to implement fully or semi-automatic coding on textual data (specifically, electronic messages) by leveraging Natural Language Processing (NLP). In particular, we compare the performance of human-developed NLP rules to those inferred by machine learning algorithms. The experimental results suggest that NLP with machine learning can be an effective way to assist researchers in coding qualitative data. }, keywords = {FLOSS, NLP}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ml_nlp.pdf , https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ASIST\%20poster\%202p\%20final.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Xiaozhong Liu and Allen, Eileen E. and Heckman, Robert} } @article {2010, title = {The under-appreciated role of stigmergic coordination in software development}, year = {2010}, abstract = {

Coordination in software development teams has been a topic of perennial interest in empirical software engineering research. The vast majority of this literature has drawn on a conceptual separation between work and coordination mechanisms, separate from the work itself, which enable groups to achieve coordination. Traditional recommendations and software methods focused on planning: using analysis to predict and manage dependencies. Empirical research has demonstrated the limits of this approach, showing that many important dependencies are emergent and pointing to the persistent importance of explicit discussion to managing these dependencies as they arise. Drawing on work in Computer-Supported Collaborative Work and building from an analogy to collaboration amongst insects (stigmergy), we argue that the work product itself plays an under-appreciated role in helping software developers manage dependencies as they arise. This short paper presents the conceptual argument with empirical illustrations and explains why this mechanism would have significant implications for Software Engineering coordination research. We discuss issues in marshaling clear positive evidence, arguing that these issues are responsible, in part, for the under-consideration of this mechanism in software engineering and outlining research strategies which may overcome these issues.

}, keywords = {Coordination, FLOSS, Stigmergy}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/stigmergy-short.pdf}, author = {Bolici, Francesco and James Howison and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {Scialdone:2009, title = {Group Maintenance Behaviours of Core and Peripheral Members of Free/Libre Open Source Software Teams}, year = {2009}, address = {Skövde, Sweden, 3-6 June}, abstract = {Group Maintenance is pro-social, discretionary, and relation-building behavior that occurs between members of groups in order to maintain reciprocal trust and cooperation. This paper considers how Free/libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) teams demonstrate such behaviors within the context of e-mail, as this is the primary medium through which such teams communicate. We compare group maintenance behaviors between both core and peripheral members of these groups, as well as behaviors between a group that remains producing software today and one which has since dissolved. Our findings indicate that negative politeness tactics (those which show respect for the autonomy of others) may be the most instrumental group maintenance behaviors that contribute to a FLOSS group{\textquoteleft}s ability to survive and continue software production. }, keywords = {FLOSS, Group Maintenance}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/34finalmjs.pdf}, author = {Scialdone, Michael J. and Heckman, Robert and Kevin Crowston}, editor = {Boldyreff, Cornelia and Kevin Crowston and Lundell, Bj{\"o}rn and Wasserman, Tony} } @conference {2009, title = {Tales of the Field: Building Small Science Cyberinfrastructure}, booktitle = {4S conference}, year = {2009}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/BuildingSmallScienceCyberinfrastructureFinal.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea} } @article {Li:2008a, title = {Asynchronous Decision-Making in Distributed Teams (Poster)}, year = {2008}, month = {8{\textendash}12 November}, address = {San Diego, CA}, keywords = {Decision-Making, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CSCW2008Poster11x17Draft.pdf}, author = {Li, Qing and Heckman, Robert and Allen, Eileen E. and Kevin Crowston and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and James Howison and Wiggins, Andrea} } @inbook {Crowston:2008b, title = {The bug fixing process in proprietary and free/libre open source software: A coordination theory analysis}, booktitle = {Business Process Transformation}, year = {2008}, pages = {69-99}, publisher = {M. E. Sharpe}, organization = {M. E. Sharpe}, address = {Armonk, NY}, abstract = {To support business process transformation, we must first be able to represent business processes in a way that allows us to compare and contrast them or to design new ones. In this paper, I use coordination theory to analyze the bug fixing processes in the proprietary operating system development group of a large mini-computer manufacturer and for the Free/Libre Open Source Software Linux operating system kernel. Three approaches to identifying dependencies and coordination mechanisms are presented. Mechanisms analyzed include those for task assignment, resource sharing and managing dependencies between modules of source code. The proprietary development organization assigned problem reports to engineers based on the module that appeared to be in error, since engineers only worked on particular modules. Alternative task assignment mechanisms include assignment to engineers based on workload or voluntary assignment, as in Linux. In the proprietary process, modules of source code were not shared, but rather {\textquotedblleft}owned{\textquotedblright} by one engineer, thus reducing the need for coordination. In Linux, where multiple developers can work on the same modules, alternative resource sharing mechanisms have been developed to manage source code. Finally, the proprietary developers managed dependencies between modules informally, relying on their personal knowledge of which other engineers used their code. The Linux process allows developers to change code in multiple modules, but emphasizes modularity to reduce the need to do so.}, keywords = {Coordination, FLOSS}, isbn = {9780765611918}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/The\%20bug\%20fixing\%20process\%20in\%20proprietary\%20.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston}, editor = {Grover, Varun and Markus, M. Lynne} } @conference {2008, title = {Cross-repository data linking with {RDF} and {OWL}: Towards common ontologies for representing {FLOSS} data}, booktitle = {WoPDaSD (Workshop on Public Data at International Conference on Open Source Software)}, year = {2008}, abstract = {This paper provides an approach to the problem of integrating data from multiple research repositories for FLOSS data. It introduces semantic web technologies (RDF, OWL, OWL-DL reasoners and SPARQL) to argue that these are useful for building shared research infrastructure. The paper illustrates its point by describing parts of an ontology developed for the integration and analysis of project communications drawn from FLOSSmole, the Notre Dame archive and direct collection of data. RDF vocabularies provide a way to agree on things we agree about as well as a way to be clearer about ways in which we disagree.}, keywords = {FLOSS, FLOSSmole}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/howison2008cross-repositor_0.pdf}, author = {James Howison} } @proceedings {Howison:2008, title = {e{R}esearch workflows for studying free and open source software development}, year = {2008}, note = {Slides from the presentation at the Oxford eResearch Conference of lessons learned in replicating research in eResearch workflows.}, address = {Milan, Italy, 7-10 September}, abstract = {This paper proposes a demonstration of eResearch workflow tools as a model for the research community studying free and open source software and its development. For purposes of background and justification, the paper first introduces eResearch as increasingly practiced in fields such as astrophysics and biology, then contrasts the practice of research on free and open source software. After outlining the suitable public data sources the paper introduces a class of tools known as scientific workflow frameworks, specifically focusing on one---Taverna---and introducing its features. To further explain the tool a complete workflow used for original research on FLOSS is described and the agenda for the live demonstration is outlined. }, keywords = {eResearch, FLOSS, Workflow}, doi = {10.1007/978-0-387-09684-1_39}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/eResearchWorkflows.pdf}, author = {James Howison and Wiggins, Andrea and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {, title = {eSocialScience for Free/Libre Open Source Software researchers}, year = {2008}, address = {Manchester, UK, 18-20 June}, abstract = {This abstract presents a case study of the potential application of eScience tools and practices for the social science research community studying Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development practices. We first describe the practice of research on FLOSS to motivate the need for eScience. After outlining suitable public data sources, we describe our initial efforts to introduce eScience tools for FLOSS research, potential obstacles and how the use of such tools might affect the practice of research in this field.}, keywords = {eScience, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/NCeSS2008CrowstonHowisonWiggins.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison and Wiggins, Andrea} } @proceedings {Scialdone:2008, title = {Group Maintenance in Technology-Supported Distributed Teams}, year = {2008}, address = {Anaheim, CA, 9-13 August}, abstract = {Are geographically-distributed teams which exhibit high levels of group maintenance between members successful? We answer this through content analysis of emails from two Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) teams. Our results illustrate that the groups utilize low levels of organizational citizenship behaviors and high levels of positive politeness actions.}, keywords = {FLOSS, Group Maintenance}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/GroupMaintenance.pdf}, author = {Scialdone, Michael J. and Li, Na and James Howison and Heckman, Robert and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {Wiggins:2008a, title = {Social dynamics of FLOSS team communication across channels}, year = {2008}, pages = {131-142}, publisher = {Springer Boston}, address = {Milan, Italy, 7-10 September}, abstract = {This paper extends prior investigation into the social dynamics of free and open source (FLOSS) teams by examining the methodological questions arising from research using social network analysis on open source projects. We evaluate the validity of data sampling by examining dynamics of communication centralization, which vary across multiple communication channels. We also introduce a method for intensity-based smoothing in dynamic social network analysis.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, isbn = {978-0-387-09683-4}, issn = {1571-5736 (Print) 1861-2288 (Online)}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/DSNAWigginsIFIP.pdf}, author = {Wiggins, Andrea and James Howison and Kevin Crowston} } @booklet {2008, title = {Taverna Demo Screencast Redux}, year = {2008}, abstract = {This is a shortened version of the Taverna Demo screencast by James Howison. It was edited by Andrea Wiggins for use in a data analysis lecture for the IST 400/600 course on Science Data Management. The reduced version is just over 14 minutes long and omits some of the more technical discussion to focus on the tool demo for a general audience. }, keywords = {Data Management, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/TavernaDemoRedux.m4v}, author = {James Howison}, editor = {Wiggins, Andrea} } @booklet {2008, title = {Taverna Demonstration Screencast}, year = {2008}, abstract = {A screencast prepared for the Irvine workshop on FLOSS data repositories. }, keywords = {Data Management, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/tavernaDemoScreencast.mov}, author = {James Howison} } @article {Howison:2008a, title = {Towards a data and workflow collaboratory for research on Free and Open Source Software and its development (Poster)}, year = {2008}, address = {Los Angeles, CA}, keywords = {eScience, FLOSS, Workflow}, author = {James Howison and Squire, Megan and Kevin Crowston} } @article {2008, title = {Towards A review of the empirical FLOSS literature}, year = {2008}, note = {Towards A review of the empirical FLOSS literature}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ReviewProgressReport.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison and Kangning Wei and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and Li, Qing} } @article {Howison:2007, title = {Building a collaboratory for research on open source software development (Poster)}, year = {2007}, address = {Ann Arbor, MI}, keywords = {eScience, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Howison_eSocSciPoster-small.pdf}, author = {James Howison and Squire, Megan and Kevin Crowston} } @article {2007, title = {Emergent leadership in self-organizing virtual teams (Poster)}, year = {2007}, address = {Montr{\'e}al, Qu{\'e}bec, Canada, 9{\textendash}12 Dec}, keywords = {FLOSS, Leadership}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/20081204\%20ICIS\%20Poster_v.5.1.pdf}, author = {Heckman, Robert and Kevin Crowston and Misiolek, Nora and Eseryel, U. Yeliz} } @article {2007, title = {A proposed data and analysis archive for research on Free and Open Source Software and its development (Poster)}, year = {2007}, address = {Ann Arbor, MI}, keywords = {FLOSS}, author = {James Howison and Squire, Megan and Kevin Crowston} } @article {2007, title = {A proposed data and analysis archive for research on Free and Open Source Software and its development (Poster)}, year = {2007}, keywords = {FLOSS}, author = {James Howison and Squire, Megan and Kevin Crowston} } @article {Crowston:2007, title = {The role of face-to-face meetings in technology-supported self-organizing distributed teams}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Professional Communications}, volume = {50}, number = {3}, year = {2007}, pages = {185{\textendash}203}, abstract = {We examine the role of face-to-face meetings in the context of technology-supported self-organizing distributed or virtual teams, specifically Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams. Based on a qualitative inductive analysis of data from interviews and observations at FLOSS conferences, we identify a variety of settings in which developers meet face-to-face, activities performed in these settings and benefits obtained. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, FLOSS developers generally do not meet face-to-face until the project is well under way. An additional benefit of face-to-face meetings is time away from a regular job and speed of interaction for certain kinds of tasks.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, doi = {10.1109/TPC.2007.902654}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/070122.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison and Masango, Chengetai and Eseryel, U. Yeliz} } @proceedings {Heckman:2007a, title = {A structurational perspective on leadership in virtual teams}, year = {2007}, pages = {151{\textendash}168}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Portland, OR}, abstract = {Building on behavioural leadership theory and structuration theory, we present a two-order theory of leadership. It describes four classes of first-order leadership behaviours (task coordination, substantive task contribution, group maintenance and boundary spanning) and defines second-order leadership as behaviour that influences changes in the structure that guides group action. We argue that second-order leadership is enabled by first-order leadership and is therefore action embedded and grounded in processes that define the social identity of the group. We propose that effective virtual teams will exhibit a paradoxical combination of shared, distributed first-order leadership complemented by strong, concentrated, and centralized second-order leadership. We conclude by suggesting future research that might be conducted to test and further elaborate our theory.}, keywords = {FLOSS, Leadership}, doi = {10.1007/978-0-387-73025-7_12}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/AStructurationalPerspectiveOnLeadership.pdf}, author = {Heckman, Robert and Kevin Crowston and Misiolek, Nora}, editor = {Kevin Crowston and Seiber, Sandra} } @article {2006, title = {Audio of ICIS 2006 Presentation}, year = {2006}, note = {Audio of Kevin, Yeliz and Qing presenting our paper at ICIS 2006. The audio is ok, but next time I{\textquoteright}m definitely going to put the recorder nearer the speakers!}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/ICIS-2006-Kevin-Yeliz-Qing-fixed.mp3}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and Li, Qing} } @article {2006, title = {Business Partnering with Open Source Communities:Opportunities, Perils and Pitfalls}, year = {2006}, note = {In July 2006 James Howison presented a tutorial at OSCON in Portland Oregon}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Howison_OSCON_tutorial.pdf}, author = {James Howison} } @proceedings {Crowston:2006b, title = {Core and periphery in Free/Libre and Open Source software team communications}, year = {2006}, address = {Kaua{\textquoteright}i, Hawai{\textquoteright}i, January}, abstract = {The concept of the core group of developers is important and often discussed in empirical studies of FLOSS projects. This paper examines the question, {\textquotedblleft}how does one empirically distinguish the core?{\textquotedblright} Being able to identify the core members of a FLOSS development project is important because many of the processes necessary for successful projects likely involve core members differently than peripheral members, so analyses that mix the two groups will likely yield invalid results. We compare 3 analysis approaches to identify the core: the named list of developers, a Bradford{\textquoteright}s law analysis that takes as the core the most frequent contributors and a social network analysis of the interaction pattern that identifies the core in a core-and-periphery structure. We apply these measures to the interactions around bug fixing for 116 SourceForge projects. The 3 techniques identify different individuals as core members; examination of which individuals are identified leads to suggestions for refining the measures. All 3 measures though suggest that the core of FLOSS projects is a small fraction of the total number of contributors.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CoreAndPeripheryInFreeLibre.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Kangning Wei and Li, Qing and James Howison} } @proceedings {Heckman:2006b, title = {Emergent decision-making practices in technology-supported self-organizing distributed teams}, year = {2006}, address = {Milwaukee, WI, 10{\textendash}13 Dec}, abstract = {We seek to identify work practices that make technology-supported self-organizing distributed (or virtual) teams (TSSODT for short) effective in producing outputs satisfactory to their sponsors, meeting the needs of their members and continuing to function. A particularly important practice for team effectiveness is decision making: are the right decisions made at the right time to get the work done in a way that satisfies team sponsors, keeps contributors happy and engaged, and enables continued team success? In this research-in-progress paper, we report on an inductive qualitative analysis of 120 decision episodes taken by 2 Free/libre Open Source Software development teams. Our analysis revealed differences in decision-making practices that seem to be related to differences in overall team effectiveness.}, keywords = {Decision-Making, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Emergent\%20Decision\%20Making\%20Practices\%20In\%20Technology\%20Supported\%20Self\%20O.pdf}, author = {Heckman, Robert and Kevin Crowston and Li, Qing and Allen, Eileen E. and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and James Howison and Kangning Wei} } @proceedings {Annabi:2006, title = {From Individual Contribution to Group learning: the Early Years of Apache Web Server}, year = {2006}, pages = {77{\textendash}90}, address = {Lake Como, Italy, 8{\textendash}9 June}, abstract = {Open Source Software (OSS) groups experience many benefits and challenges with respect to the core group{\textquoteright}s effectiveness. In order to capitalize on the benefits and minimize the challenges, OSS groups must learn not only on the individual level, but also on the group level. OSS groups learn by integrating individual contributions into the group{\textquoteright}s product and processes. This paper reports on the characteristics of the learning process in OSS groups. The study utilized an embedded single case study design that observed and analyzed group learning processes in the Apache Web server OSS project. The study used learning opportunity episodes (LOE) as the embedded unit of analysis and developed and utilized three content analytic schemes to describe the characteristics of the learning process and the factors affecting this process.}, keywords = {FLOSS, Learning}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/FromIndividualContributionToGroup.pdf}, author = {Annabi, Hala and Kevin Crowston and Heckman, Robert} } @article {Crowston:2006a, title = {Hierarchy and centralization in Free and Open Source Software team communications}, journal = {Knowledge, Technology \& Policy}, volume = {18}, number = {4}, year = {2006}, pages = {65{\textendash}85}, abstract = {Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams provide an interesting and convenient setting for studying distributed work. We begin by answering perhaps the most basic question: what is the social structure of these teams? Based on a social network analysis of interactions represented in 62,110 bug reports from 122 large and active projects, we find that some OSS teams are highly centralized, but contrary to expectation, others are not. Projects are mostly quite hierarchical on four measures of hierarchy, consistent with past research but contrary to the popular image of these projects. Furthermore, we find that the level of centralization is negatively correlated with project size, suggesting that larger projects become more modular. The paper makes a further methodological contribution by identifying appropriate analysis approaches for interaction data. We conclude by sketching directions for future research.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/HierarchyAndCentralization.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison} } @article {Crowston:2006, title = {Information systems success in Free and Open Source Software development: Theory and measures}, journal = {Software Process{\textendash}Improvement and Practice}, volume = {11}, number = {2}, year = {2006}, pages = {123{\textendash}148}, abstract = {Information systems success is one of the most widely used dependent variables in information systems (IS) research, but research on Free/Libre and Open Source software (FLOSS) often fails to appropriately conceptualize this important concept. In this paper, we reconsider what success means within a FLOSS context. We first review existing models of IS success and success variables used in FLOSS research and assess them for their usefulness, practicality and fit to the FLOSS context. Then, drawing on a theoretical model of group effectiveness in the FLOSS development process, as well as an online discussion group with developers, we present additional concepts that are central to an appropriate understanding of success for FLOSS. In order to examine the practicality and validity of this conceptual scheme, the second half of our paper presents an empirical study that demonstrates its operationalization of the chosen measures and assesses their internal validity. We use data from SourceForge to measure the project{\textquoteright}s effectiveness in team building, the speed of the project at responding to bug reports and the project{\textquoteright}s popularity. We conclude by discussing the implications of this study for our proposed extension of IS success in the context of FLOSS development and highlight future directions for research.}, keywords = {FLOSS, Success}, doi = {10.1002/spip.259}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/InformationSystemsSuccessInFree.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison and Annabi, Hala} } @conference {Li:2006, title = {Language and power in self-organizing distributed teams}, booktitle = {OCIS Division, Academy of Management Conference}, year = {2006}, address = {Atlanta, GA}, abstract = {In this paper, a comparative case study is conducted to explore the way power is expressed and exercised through language use in distributed or virtual teams. Our research questions are {\textquotedblleft}how is power expressed in online interactions in self-organizing distributed teams, in a context without formal authority or hierarchy?{\textquotedblright} and {\textquotedblleft}What effects do expressions of power have on team outcomes?{\textquotedblright} To fully understand the role of power in self-organizing teams, we apply an input-process-output model on two open source projects-one successful and the other less successful. Two set of codes (source of power and power mechanism) are drawn from the data, and different power patterns interestingly show up between them. The findings lead us to speculate that strong, centralized leadership, the assertive exercise of power, and direct language may contribute to effectiveness in FLOSS teams. And the relevant conclusions and suggestions are provided for further research.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/LanguageAndPowerInSelf-organizing.pdf}, author = {Li, Qing and Kevin Crowston and Heckman, Robert and James Howison} } @article {2006, title = {Open Source Data Sources}, year = {2006}, note = {James Howison presented a short tutorial on FLOSS data sources at the 2006 Academy of Management conference in Atlanta.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Howison_OpenSourceData_AcademyOpenSourcePDW2006.pdf}, author = {James Howison} } @proceedings {, title = {The role of mental models in FLOSS development work practices}, year = {2006}, pages = {91-97}, address = {Lake Como, Italy, 8{\textendash}9 June}, abstract = {Shared understandings are important for software development as they guide to effective individual contributions to, and coordination of, the software development process. In this paper, we present the theoretical background and research design for a proposed study on shared mental models within Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams. In particular, we plan to perform case studies on several projects and to use cognitive maps analysis to represent and compare the mental models of the involved members so as to gauge the degree of common knowledge and the development of a collective mind as well as to better understand the reasons that underlie team members actions and the way common mental models, if any, arise.}, keywords = {FLOSS, Mental Model}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/oss2006crowstonscozzi.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Scozzi, Barbara} } @proceedings {Howison:2006sd, title = {Social dynamics of free and open source team communications}, year = {2006}, pages = {319-330}, address = {Lake Como, Italy, 8-9 June}, abstract = {This paper furthers inquiry into the social structure of free and open source software (FLOSS) teams by undertaking social network analysis across time. Contrary to expectations, we confirmed earlier findings of a wide distribution of centralizations even when examining the networks over time. The paper also provides empirical evidence that while change at the center of FLOSS projects is relatively uncommon, participation across the project communities is highly skewed, with many participants appearing for only one period. Surprisingly, large project teams are not more likely to undergo change at their centers.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/SocialDynamics.pdf}, author = {James Howison and Inoue, Keisuke and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {Crowston:2005, title = {Coordination of Free/Libre Open Source Software development}, year = {2005}, address = {Las Vegas, NV, USA, December}, abstract = {The apparent success of free/libre open source software (FLOSS) development projects such as Linux, Apache, and many others has raised the question, what lessons from FLOSS development can be transferred to mainstream software development? In this paper, we use coordination theory to analyze coordination mechanisms in FLOSS development and compare our analysis with existing literature on coordination in proprietary software development. We examined developer interaction data from three active and successful FLOSS projects and used content analysis to identify the coordination mechanisms used by the participants. We found that there were similarities between the FLOSS groups and the reported practices of the proprietary project in the coordination mechanisms used to manage task-task dependencies. However, we found clear differences in the coordination mechanisms used to manage task-actor dependencies. While published descriptions of proprietary software development involved an elaborate system to locate the developer who owned the relevant piece of code, we found that {\textquotedblleft}self-assignment{\textquotedblright} was the most common mechanism across three FLOSS projects. This coordination mechanism is consistent with expectations for distributed and largely volunteer teams. We conclude by discussing whether these emergent practices can be usefully transferred to mainstream practice and indicating directions for future research.}, keywords = {Coordination, FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Coordination\%20of\%20Free\%20Libre\%20Open\%20Source\%20Software\%20Development.pdf , https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/CoordinationFreeLibreOSSDevSlides.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Kangning Wei and Li, Qing and Eseryel, U. Yeliz and James Howison} } @article {2005, title = {An exploratory study of factors related to effectiveness of Free/Libre Open Source Software teams}, year = {2005}, note = {Talk at the Padua Open Source Software Symposium, 14-15 April 2005.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/050415\%20padua\%20presentation.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Eseryel, U. Yeliz} } @conference {Crowston:2005b, title = {Face-to-face interactions in self-organizing distributed teams}, booktitle = {Academy of Management Conference}, year = {2005}, address = {Honolulu, HI}, abstract = {We explore the role of face-to-face meetings in the life of distributed teams using data from Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams. Such distributed teams are part of many organizations{\textquoteright} new vision of management in the 21st century. Practitioner research has suggested the need for face-to-face meetings when a team is formed, but few studies have considered the role of face-to-face meetings during a team{\textquoteright}s life. Based on a qualitative inductive analysis of data from interviews and observations at FLOSS conferences, we identify a variety of settings in which FLOSS developers meet face-to-face, activities performed in these settings and benefits obtained. Contrary to prior research, we find that FLOSS developers generally do not meet until the project is well under way. We also find that an additional benefit of face-to-face meetings is time away from a regular job. We conclude by noting limitations in our data collection due to a focus on core developers in large projects and with directions for further research.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/FaceToFace\%20Interactions.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison and Masango, Chengetai and Eseryel, U. Yeliz} } @conference {2005, title = {OSSmole: A collaborative repository for FLOSS research data and analyses}, booktitle = {1st International Conference on Open Source Software}, year = {2005}, address = {Genova, Italy}, abstract = {This paper introduces a collaborative project, {\textquotedblleft}OSSmole{\textquotedblright}, designed to gather, share and store comparable data and analyses of free and open source software development for academic research. The project draws on the ongoing collection and analysis efforts of many research groups, reducing duplication, and promoting compatibility both across sources of FLOSS data and across research groups and analyses. The paper outlines current difficulties with the current typical quantitative FLOSS research process and uses these to develop requirements and presents the design of the system. }, keywords = {FLOSSmole}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/OSSmole\%20\%20A\%20collaborative\%20repository_0.pdf}, author = {James Howison and Conklin, Megan S.} } @article {222, title = {SE, IS \& (FL)OSS @ EASE}, year = {2005}, note = {A keynote address at the Conference on Empirical Assessment of Software Engineering at Keele University, 11-13 April 2005.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/crowston_EASE_talk.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston} } @article {Crowston:2005c, title = {The social structure of Free and Open Source Software development}, journal = {First Monday}, volume = {10}, number = {2}, year = {2005}, note = {First Monday, Special Issue $\#$2: Open Source {\textemdash} 3 October 2005 The social structure of free and open source software development (originally published in Volume 10, Number 2, February 2005)}, abstract = {Metaphors, such as the Cathedral and Bazaar, used to describe the organization of FLOSS projects typically place them in sharp contrast to proprietary development by emphasizing FLOSS{\textquoteright}s distinctive social and communications structures. But what do we really know about the communication patterns of FLOSS projects? How generalizable are the projects that have been studied? Is there consistency across FLOSS projects? Questioning the assumption of distinctiveness is important because practitioner{\textendash}advocates from within the FLOSS community rely on features of social structure to describe and account for some of the advantages of FLOSS production. To address this question, we examined 120 project teams from SourceForge, representing a wide range of FLOSS project types, for their communications centralization as revealed in the interactions in the bug tracking system. We found that FLOSS development teams vary widely in their communications centralization, from projects completely centered on one developer to projects that are highly decentralized and exhibit a distributed pattern of conversation between developers and active users. We suggest, therefore, that it is wrong to assume that FLOSS projects are distinguished by a particular social structure merely because they are FLOSS. Our findings suggest that FLOSS projects might have to work hard to achieve the expected development advantages which have been assumed to flow from "going open." In addition, the variation in communications structure across projects means that communications centralization is useful for comparisons between FLOSS teams. We found that larger FLOSS teams tend to have more decentralized communication patterns, a finding that suggests interesting avenues for further research examining, for example, the relationship between communications structure and code modularity.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, url = {http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1207/1127}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/Social\%20structure\%20of\%20Free\%20and\%20Open\%20Source\%20Software\%20development.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and James Howison} } @proceedings {Crowston:2005a, title = {A structurational perspective on leadership in Free/Libre Open Source Software teams}, year = {2005}, address = {Genova, Italy}, abstract = {In this conceptual paper, we present a structuration-based theory of leadership behaviours in self-organizing virtual distributed teams such as Free/Libre Open Source Software development teams. Such teams are often composed of members of relatively equal status or who are so disparate in background that formal organizational status seems irrelevant, reducing the usual leadership cues provided by organizational status and title. Building on a functional view of leadership and structuration theory, we suggest that leaders are individuals who develop team structures that then guide the actions of team members. Specifically, we examine structures of signification in the form of shared mental models, structures of domination in the form of role structures and structures of legitimation in form of rules and norms. The main contribution of our paper is the integration of various social theories to describe emergent leadership behaviours in distributed teams. We develop a set of propositions and illustrate with examples taken from Free/Libre Open Source Software development teams. We conclude by suggesting future research that might be conducted to test and further elaborate our theory.}, keywords = {FLOSS, Leadership}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/crowston-final.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Heckman, Robert and Annabi, Hala and Masango, Chengetai} } @conference {2004, title = {Effective work practices for software engineering}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2004 ACM workshop on Interdisciplinary software engineering research (WISER {\textquoteright}04)}, year = {2004}, pages = {18}, publisher = {ACM Press}, organization = {ACM Press}, address = {Newport Beach, CA, USA}, abstract = {We review the literature on Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development and on software development, distributed work and teams more generally to develop a theoretical model to explain the performance of FLOSS teams. The proposed model is based on Hackman{\textquoteright}s [34] model of effectiveness of work teams, with coordination theory [52] and collective mind [79] to extend Hackman{\textquoteright}s model by elaborating team practices relevant to effectiveness in software development. We propose a set of propositions to guide further research.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, isbn = {1581139888}, doi = {10.1145/1029997.1030003}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/p18-crowston.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Annabi, Hala and James Howison and Masango, Chengetai} } @article {2004, title = {A structurational model of leadership in virtual distributed groups}, year = {2004}, note = {"A structurational model of the dynamics of Free/Libre Open Source Software development teams". Presentation at the IFIP WG 8.2 OASIS Workshop 2004, Washington, DC, 12 December 2004. (Powerpoint file).}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/crowston_oasis_2004v3.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Annabi, Hala and Heckman, Robert} } @booklet {2003, title = {Collective Learning in Distributed Groups (Research in progress)}, year = {2003}, publisher = {Syracuse University School of Information Studies}, keywords = {FLOSS}, author = {Annabi, Hala and Kevin Crowston} } @proceedings {Crowston:2003c, title = {Defining Open Source Software project success}, year = {2003}, address = {Seattle, WA, December}, abstract = {Information systems success is one of the most widely used dependent variables in information systems research. In this paper, we identify a range of measures that can be used to assess the success of Open Source Software (OSS) projects. We identify measures based on a review of the literature, a consideration of the OSS development process and an analysis of the opinions of OSS developers. For each measure, we provide examples of how they might be used in a study of OSS development.}, keywords = {FLOSS}, attachments = {https://floss.syr.edu/sites/crowston.syr.edu/files/icis2003success.pdf}, author = {Kevin Crowston and Annabi, Hala and James Howison} }