As you all know, Open Source software (OSS) proposes a collaborative development model where the code is accessible and anyone can contribute. However, this very own collaborative nature becomes one of its main sources of problems, as developers abandoning the project...
There are many strategies to fund open source software development. None of them is a silver bullet. Indeed, OSS sustainability is still a major concern. And WordPress has an original approach to this challenge, called Five for the future. In short, Five for the...
The role of non-tech/non-coding contributors in Open Source Software (OSS) is poorly understood. Most of current research around OSS development focuses on the coding aspects of the project (e.g., commits, pull requests or code reviews) while ignoring the potential of...
Matching markets are markets where the allocation – i.e. who gets what – is not (completely) driven by price. A classical example is kidney exchanges. It’s illegal to buy a kidney, even if you want to. It’s impossible to donate yours if the recipient is...
Sustainability of open source projects is one of my major concerns. Similar to any other shared-resource system, participation inequality is a major challenge in open source. This is known as the “volunteer’s dilemma”: everybody wants to benefit from...
Any important decision should be grounded on data. This is also true for any decision that affects your software projects. You shouldn’t reach any conclusion regarding the health of your project or the actions to take to improve it without a good look at the...