When Is Free/Open Source Software Development Faster, Better, and Cheaper than Software Engineering?

Walt Scacchi, Institute for Software Research, University of California, Irvine

6/27/2008
(Original Publish Date: 6/1/2004)

This chapter draws attention to the question of determining the conditions when free/open source software development may represent a significant alternative to modern software engineering techniques for developing large-scale software systems. F/OSSD often entails shorter development times that can produce higher quality systems, and incur lower costs than may be realized through developing systems according SE techniques. Understanding why and how this may arise is the focus of this chapter. It presents, analyzes, and compares data collected from different F/OSSD projects, including an in-depth case study, to help develop such an understanding. The goal of this chapter is to determine the circumstances and conditions when F/OSSD represents a viable alternative to SE for the development of complex software systems. In particular, the chapter seeks to contrast differences observed in the arrangement and tooling of their respective software development practices, production resources, technical regimes, and community practices in which they are embedded. This in turn may then help identify how the practice and principles of SE might be improved.