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Institute for Software Research (ISR)

ICS Dept.

UC Irvine

UCI research in open source software development focuses on empirically-based studies of the processes, practices, and communities that develop open source software. Ethnographic and virtual enthnographic research methods are employed in the field studies of open source software development in communities that include those centered on Internet infrastructure, X-Ray astronomy and deep space imaging, networked computer games, and academic software design research.

Faculty

Walt Scacchi

Collaborators

Mark Ackerman, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Margaret Elliott, UCI ISR
Justin Erenkrantz, UCI ISR
Les Gasser, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Chris Jensen, UCI ISR
John Noll, Santa Clara University
Jason Robbins, UCI ISR
Richard N. Taylor, UCI ISR
Julia Watson, The Ohio State University

Projects

NSF ITR: Understanding Open Software Communities, Processes and Practices: A Socio-Technical Approach (award abstract)

NSF ITR: Collaborative Research: Organizational Dynamics of Software Problems, Bugs, Failures, and Repairs (award abstract)

NSF IIS: Collaborative Research: Research Directions for Continuous (Re)Design in Free/Open Source Software Systems (award abstract)

NSF ITR: An Integrated Social and Technical Approach to Development of Distributed Inter-Organizational Applications (award abstract)

Selected Publications

• Continuous Design of Free/Open Source Software: Workshop Report and Research Agenda, Les Gasser and Walt Scacchi, UCI-UIUC Workshop on Continuous Design of Open Source Software, 15 October 2003.
• Understanding Continuous Design in F/OSS Projects, Les Gasser, Walt Scacchi, Gabriel Ripoche, and Bryan Penne, 16th. Intern. Conf. Software & Systems Engineering and their Applications, Paris, December 2003.
• Socio-Technical Design, Walt Scacchi, revised version to appear in W. S. Bainbrigde (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction, Berkshire Publishing Group, 2004.
• Free/Open Source Software Development Practices in the Computer Game Community, Walt Scacchi, revised version in IEEE Software, Special Issue on Open Source Software, January-February 2004.
• Understanding Free/Open Source Software Evolution: Applying, Breaking and Rethinking the Laws of Software Evolution, Walt Scacchi, revised version in N.H. Madhavji, M.M. Lehman, J.F. Ramil and D. Perry (eds.), Software Evolution, John Wiley and Sons Inc, New York, 2004.
• Free Software Development: Cooperation and Conflict in A Virtual Organizational Culture, Margaret S. Elliott, Walt Scacchi, revised version to appear in S. Koch (ed.), Free/Open Source Software Development, Idea Publishing, 2004.
• Free Software Developers as an Occupational Community: Resolving Conflicts and Fostering Collaboration, Margaret S. Elliott, revised version in ACM Group'03 Conference, Sanibel Island, FL 9-12 November 2003.
• Supporting Distributed and Decentralized Projects: Drawing Lessons from the Open Source Community, Justin R. Erenkrantz, Richard N. Taylor. <http://osic.in.tum.de/>Proc. 1st Workshop on Open Source in an Industrial Context, Anaheim, California, October, 2003
• Adopting Open Source Software Engineering (OSSE) Practices by Adopting OSSE Tools, Jason Robbins, in Making Sense of the Bazaar: Perspectives on Open Source and Free Software, J. Feller, B. Fitzgerald, S. Hissam, & K. Lakhani (Eds.), O'Reilly & Associates, Sebastopol, CA, 2003.
• When is Free/Open Source Software Development Faster, Better, and Cheaper than Software Engineering?, Walt Scacchi, Working Paper, Institute for Software Research, UC Irvine, August 2003.
• Simulating an Automated Approach to Discovery and Modeling of Open Source Software Development Processes,Chris Jensen, Walt Scacchi, Proc. ProSim'03 Workshop on Software Process Simulation and Modeling, Portland, OR May 2003.
• The Virtual Organizational Culture of a Free Software Development Community, Margaret Elliott, Proc. 3rd. Workshop on Open Source Software Engineering, 25th. Intern. Conf. Software Engineering, Portland, OR, May 2003.
• Release Management within Open Source Projects, Justin Erenkrantz, Proc. 3rd. Workshop on Open Source Software Engineering, 25th. Intern. Conf. Software Engineering, Portland, OR, May 2003.
• Issues and Experiences in Modeling Open Source Software Processes, Walt Scacchi, Proc. 3rd. Workshop on Open Source Software Engineering, 25th. Intern. Conf. Software Engineering, Portland, OR, May 2003.
• Automating the Discovery and Modeling of Open Source Software Processes, Chris Jensen, Walt Scacchi, Proc. 3rd. Workshop on Open Source Software Engineering, 25th. Intern. Conf. Software Engineering, Portland, OR, May 2003.
• Free Software: A Case Study of Software Development in a Virtual Organizational Culture, Margaret S. Elliott, Walt Scacchi, Working Paper, Institute for Software Research, UC Irvine, April 2003.
• Communicating and Mitigating Conflict in Open Source Software Development Projects, Margaret Elliott, Walt Scacchi, Working Paper, Institute for Software Research, UC Irvine, Fall 2002.
• Open EC/B:  A Case Study in Electronic Commerce and Open Source Software Development, Walt Scacchi, Working Paper, Institute for Software Research, UC Irvine, July 2002.
• Open Acquisition: Combining Open Source Software Development with System Acquisition, Walt Scacchi, Working Paper, Institute for Software Research, UC Irvine, July 2002.
• Understanding the Requirements for Developing Open Source Software Systems, Walt Scacchi, IEE Proceedings--Software, 149(1), 24-39, February 2002.
• Understanding the Social, Technological, and Policy Implications of Open Source Software Development, Walt Scacchi, position paper presented at the NSF Workshop on Open Source Software, January 2002 (revised August 2002).
• Software Development Practices in Open Software Development Communities, Walt Scacchi, presented at the 1st Workshop on Open Source Software Engineering, Toronto, Ontario, May 2001.

Other Links

UCI-UIUC-NSF Workshop on the Science of Design: Continuous Design of Open Source Software

Understanding and Visualizing Information Work Processes and Practices (PPT)

Software Acquisition and Electronic Commerce

The Meta-Game Group at UCI-UCSD and the UCI Computer Game Culture and Technology Laboratory

Software research emphases:

Analysis and Testing | CSCW | Compiler Technology | Configuration Management | Environments | Human-Computer Interaction | Hypermedia | Internet-scale Event Notification | Open Source Software Development | Software Acquisition and Ecommerce | Software Architecture | Software Engineering Education | Software Understanding