TY - Generic T1 - Asynchronous Decision-Making in Distributed Teams (Poster) Y1 - 2008 A1 - Li, Qing A1 - Heckman, Robert A1 - Allen, Eileen E. A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - James Howison A1 - Wiggins, Andrea KW - Decision-Making KW - FLOSS JF - Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work CY - San Diego, CA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Decision Making Paths in Self-Organizing Technology-Mediated Distributed Teams T2 - Proceedings of the International Conference on Open Source Systems Y1 - 2008 A1 - Li, Qing A1 - Heckman, Robert A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - James Howison A1 - Allen, Eileen E. A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz AB - This paper investigates decision making in self-organizing technology-mediated distributed teams. This context provides an opportunity to examine how the use of technological support to span temporal and organizational discontinuities affects decision-making processes. 258 software-modification decision episodes were collected from the public emailing lists of six Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) projects over a span of five years. Six decision-making paths were identified as 1) short-cut decision-making path; 2) implicit-development decision-making path; 3) implicit-evaluation decision-making path; 4) normative decision-making path; 5) dynamic decision-making path; and 6) interrupted/delayed decision-making path. We suggest that the nature of the tasks and the affordances of the technology used reduce the need for explicit coordination, resulting in a broader range of possible decision processes than are observed in face-to-face groups. JF - Proceedings of the International Conference on Open Source Systems CY - Paris, France, 14-17 December ER - TY - Generic T1 - Shared mental models among open source software developers T2 - Proceedings of the 41st Hawai'i International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) Y1 - 2008 A1 - Scozzi, Barbara A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - Li, Qing AB - 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 results of a preliminary analysis on shared mental models within Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams. Based on structuration theory and by adopting cognitive mapping and process analysis, we represented and com-pared the mental models of some developers of the Lucene Java project. Our analysis suggests that there is a high-level of sharing among core developers but the shar-ing is not complete, with some differences related to ten-ure in the project. JF - Proceedings of the 41st Hawai'i International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) CY - Big Island, Hawai'i, 7-10 January ER - TY - Generic T1 - Towards A review of the empirical FLOSS literature Y1 - 2008 A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - James Howison A1 - Kangning Wei A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - Li, Qing KW - FLOSS N1 - Towards A review of the empirical FLOSS literature ER - TY - Generic T1 - Emergent decision-making practices in Free/Libre Open Source Software FLOSS development teams T2 - Proceedings of the IFIP 3rd International Conference on Open Source Software Y1 - 2007 A1 - Heckman, Robert A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - James Howison A1 - Allen, Eileen E. A1 - Li, Qing AB - We seek to identify work practices that make Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams effective. Particularly important to team effectiveness is decision making. In this paper, we report on an inductive qualitative analysis of 360 decision episodes of six FLOSS development teams. Our analysis revealed diversity in decision-making practices that seem to be related to differences in overall team characteristics and effectiveness. JF - Proceedings of the IFIP 3rd International Conference on Open Source Software CY - Limerick, Ireland, 10-14 June ER - TY - Generic T1 - Investigating the Dynamics of FLOSS Development Teams (Poster) Y1 - 2007 A1 - Li, Na A1 - Li, Qing A1 - Kangning Wei A1 - Heckman, Robert A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - Liddy, Elizabeth D. A1 - James Howison A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Allen, Eileen E. A1 - Scialdone, Michael J. A1 - Inoue, Keisuke A1 - Harwell, Sarah A1 - Rowe, Steven A1 - McCracken, Nancy A1 - Wiggins, Andrea N1 - SD 2007 poster - Full Adobe PDF 2007 HSD PI's conference poster reporting on the grant project work to date in a full Adobe PDF file. HSD 2007 poster - Small PDF HSD 2007 conference grant progress reporting poster in a smaller PDF file. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Self-organization of teams in free/libre open source software development JF - Information and Software Technology Journal: Special issue on Understanding the Social Side of Software Engineering, Qualitative Software Engineering Research Y1 - 2007 A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Kangning Wei A1 - Li, Qing A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - James Howison AB - This paper provides empirical evidence about how free/libre open source software development teams self-organize their work, specifically, how tasks are assigned to project team members. Following a case study methodology, we examined developer interaction data from three active and successful FLOSS projects using qualitative research methods, specifically inductive content analysis, to identify the task-assignment mechanisms used by the participants. We found that ‘self-assignment’ was the most common mechanism across three FLOSS projects. This 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. VL - 49 IS - 6 ER - TY - ADVS T1 - Audio of ICIS 2006 Presentation Y1 - 2006 A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - Li, Qing KW - FLOSS N1 - Audio of Kevin, Yeliz and Qing presenting our paper at ICIS 2006. The audio is ok, but next time I'm definitely going to put the recorder nearer the speakers! ER - TY - Generic T1 - Core and periphery in Free/Libre and Open Source software team communications T2 - Proceedings of the 39th Hawai'i International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-39) Y1 - 2006 A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Kangning Wei A1 - Li, Qing A1 - James Howison KW - FLOSS AB - The concept of the core group of developers is important and often discussed in empirical studies of FLOSS projects. This paper examines the question, “how does one empirically distinguish the core?” 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’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. JF - Proceedings of the 39th Hawai'i International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-39) CY - Kaua'i, Hawai'i, January ER - TY - Generic T1 - Emergent decision-making practices in technology-supported self-organizing distributed teams T2 - Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) Y1 - 2006 A1 - Heckman, Robert A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Li, Qing A1 - Allen, Eileen E. A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - James Howison A1 - Kangning Wei KW - Decision-Making KW - FLOSS AB - 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. JF - Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) CY - Milwaukee, WI, 10–13 Dec ER - TY - Generic T1 - Investigating the Dynamics of FLOSS Development Teams (Poster) Y1 - 2006 A1 - Li, Qing A1 - Kangning Wei A1 - Heckman, Robert A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - Liddy, Elizabeth D. A1 - James Howison A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Allen, Eileen E. A1 - Inoue, Keisuke A1 - Harwell, Sarah A1 - Rowe, Steven A1 - McCracken, Nancy N1 - Poster describing the current state of the project for the HSD Principal Investigators' conference, 14-15 September 2006, Washington DC. ER - TY - CONF T1 - Language and power in self-organizing distributed teams T2 - OCIS Division, Academy of Management Conference Y1 - 2006 A1 - Li, Qing A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Heckman, Robert A1 - James Howison KW - FLOSS AB - 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 “how is power expressed in online interactions in self-organizing distributed teams, in a context without formal authority or hierarchy?” and “What effects do expressions of power have on team outcomes?” 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. JF - OCIS Division, Academy of Management Conference CY - Atlanta, GA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Coordination of Free/Libre Open Source Software development T2 - Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) Y1 - 2005 A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Kangning Wei A1 - Li, Qing A1 - Eseryel, U. Yeliz A1 - James Howison KW - Coordination KW - FLOSS AB - 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 “self-assignment” 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. JF - Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) CY - Las Vegas, NV, USA, December ER -