Release Process on Quality Improvement in Open Source Software Project Management

Abstract

Problem statement: The Software Industry has changed and developed as a consequence of the impact of Open Source Software (OSS) since 1990s. Over a period of time, OSS has evolved in an integrated manner and most of the participants in OSS activity are volunteers. Approach: This coordination form of development has produced a considerable quantity of software; and often, the development method has been viewed as an unorganized and unstructured method of development. Few existing researches deal with the Open Source Software phenomenon from a quality perception point of view and studies where enhancements are possible in the development process. Results: Release Process in OSS plays a key role in most of the OSS projects. As this process is related to the evolution of a quality software from the community of OSS developers, this research attempts to explore the process practices which are employed by OSS developers and examines the problems associated with the development process. The scope of the study is mainly confined to process management in OSS. “Prototype development and iterative development process” approaches were adapted as a methodology. Conclusion/Recommendations: The major finding and conclusion drawn is ‘lack of coordination among developers’ who are geographically isolated. Hence, the study suggests the need for coordination among developers to line up their development process for achieving the goal of the software release process.