Sections Affiliated With: The Business of Open Source
Reports indicate Open Source Software now accounts for between 78% (2015) and 98% (2017) [1,2,3] of all core digital infrastructure, yet few organizational managers understand the business of Open Source Software – how it is produced, the opportunities it provides, its vulnerabilities, and how to effectively engage with open source communities of practice. The Business of Open Source introduces students to industry practices and cultures that promote the production of business-ready, cost effective software, delivering quicker innovation, reduced time to market, freedom from lock-in, enhanced reliability, lower total cost of ownership, and a host of other benefits. The course is designed to help organizational managers and technical professionals make informed decisions about Open Source Software, the communities of practice that enable it and the organizations that rely on it, which is practically every organization.
This course prepares students to successfully deploy Open Source Software, and effectively engage in open source production. Students will learn about the origins, impetus and differences of the Free and Open Source Software movements, investigate the relationships between proprietary and open development, and understand the current status and issues around open source development, projects, and communities. Students will be challenged to assess traditional organizational practice and measure their capacity to manage reform, in light of the differences presented by open source. This may require rethinking business models, procurement methods, project management methodologies, understandings of total cost of ownership, staffing, management of non-vendor and community relationships, risk assessment, and commercialization.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Develop an implementation plan to identify and address gaps within an organization that may inhibit effective adoption of open source technology.
- Explain the impetus, value proposition, community principles, and common practices of Open Source Software, open source development and communities of practice, and some of the implications for engaging within contemporary organizations.
- Differentiate between open source and other forms of software licensing, production, and distribution models related to typical business operations: procurement, HR, marketing and communications, etc.
- Assess an organization’s preparedness for successful participation in open source production and community involvement.
- Assess the variety of open source business models as compared to traditional proprietary approaches.
[INSERT APPROPRIATE SECTIONS FROM TEXT]
Sections Affiliated With: Open Source Community Development
[INSERT APPROPRIATE SECTIONS FROM TEXT]
Sections Affiliated With: Open Source Development Fundamentals
[INSERT APPROPRIATE SECTIONS FROM TEXT]
Producing Open Source Software Text Structure
[PASTE INTO APPROPRIATE COURSE(S)}
---------------
---------------
- Starting From What You Have
- Choosing a License and Applying It
- Setting the Tone
- Opening a Formerly Closed Project
- Announcing
---------------
- The Economics of Open Source
- Types of Corporate Involvement
- Governments and Open Source
- Hire for the Long Term
- Appear as Many, Not as One
- Be Open About Your Motivations
- Money Can't Buy You Love
- Contracting
- Funding Non-Programming Activities
- Marketing
- Open Source and the Organization
- Hiring Open Source Developers
- Evaluating Open Source Projects
- Crowdfunding and Bounties
- Community and Motivation
- Share Management Tasks as Well as Technical Tasks
- Transitions
- Committers
- Credit
- Forks
--------