Open-source software assessment methodologies
Appearance
Several methods have been created to define an assessment process for free/open-source software. Some focus on some aspects like the maturity, the durability and the strategy of the organisation around the open-source project itself. Other methodologies add functional aspects to the assessment process.
Existing methodologies
There are more than 20 different OSS evaluation methods.[1]
- Open Source Maturity Model (OSMM) from Capgemini
- Open Source Maturity Model (OSMM) from Navica
- Open Source Maturity Model (OSSMM) by Woods and Guliani[2]
- Methodology of Qualification and Selection of Open Source software (QSOS)
- Open Business Readiness Rating (OpenBRR)
- Open Business Quality Rating (OpenBQR)[3]
- QualiPSo OpenSource Maturity Model (OMM)
- QualiPSo Model for Open Source Software Trustworthiness (MOSST)[4]
- QualOSS – Quality of Open Source
- Evaluation Framework for Open Source Software[5]
- A Quality Model for OSS Selection[6]
- Atos Origin Method for Qualification and Selection of Open Source Software (QSOS)[7]
- Observatory for Innovation and Technological transfer on Open Source software (OITOS)[8]
- Framework for OS Critical Systems Evaluation (FOCSE)[9]
Comparison
Comparison criteria
- Seniority : the methodology birth date.
- Original authors/sponsors : original methodology authors and sponsoring entity (if any)
- License : Distribution and usage license for the methodology and the resulting assessments
- Assessment model :
- Detail levels : several levels of details or assessment granularity
- Predefined criteria : the methodology provides some predefined criteria
- Technical/functional criteria : the methodology permits the use of domain specific criteria based on technical information or features
- Scoring model :
- Scoring scale by criterion
- Iterative process : the assessment can be performed and refined using several steps improving the level of details
- Criteria weighting : it is possible to apply weighting on the assessed criteria as part of the methodology scoring model
- Comparison : the comparison process is defined by the methodology
Comparison chart
Criteria | OSMM Capgemini | OSMM Navica | QSOS | OpenBRR | OMM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seniority | 2003 | 2004 | 2004 | 2005 | 2008 |
Original authors/sponsors | Capgemini | Navicasoft | Atos Origin | Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, SpikeSource, O'Reilly, Intel | QualiPSo project, EU commission |
License | Non-free license, but authorised distribution | Assessment models licensed under the Academic Free License | Methodology and assessments results licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License | Assessments results licensed under a Creative Commons license | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License |
Assessment model | Practical | Practical | Practical | Scientific | Scientific |
Detail levels | 2 axes on 2 levels | 3 levels | 3 levels or more (functional grids) | 2 levels | 3 levels |
Predefined criteria | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Technical/functional criteria | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Scoring model | Flexible | Flexible | Strict | Flexible | Flexible |
Scoring scale by criterion | 1 to 5 | 1 to 10 | 0 to 2 | 1 to 5 | 1 to 4 |
Iterative process | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Criteria weighting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Comparison | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
See also
- Open Source Maturity Model
- Open-source software assessment methodologies:
- The QualiPSo OpenSource Maturity Model (OMM)
- Free software
- Open source
References
- ^ Klaas-Jan Stol, Muhammad Ali Babar. "A Comparison Framework for Open Source Software Evaluation Methods" published in OSS 2010 proceedings. IFIP AICT vol. 319, pp. 389-394.
- ^ Woods, D., Guliani, G.: Open Source for the Enterprise: Managing Risks Reaping Rewards. O’Reilly Media, Inc., Sebastopol (2005)
- ^ Davide Taibi, Luigi Lavazza, Sandro Morasca. "OpenBQR: a framework for the assessment of OSS" published in OSS 2007 proceedings.
- ^ http://www.qualipso.org/mosst-champion
- ^ Koponen, T., Hotti, V.: Evaluation framework for open source software. In: Proc. Software Engineering and Practice (SERP), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, June 21-24 (2004)
- ^ Sung, W.J., Kim, J.H., Rhew, S.Y.: A Quality Model for Open Source Software Selec- tion. In: Proc. Sixth International Conference on Advanced Language Processing and Web Information Technology, Luoyang, Henan, China, pp. 515–519 (2007)
- ^ Atos Origin: Method for Qualification and Selection of Open Source software (QSOS) version 1.6, Technical Report (2006)
- ^ Cabano, M., Monti, C., Piancastelli, G.: Context-Dependent * Evaluation Methodology for Open Source Software. In: Proc. Third IFIP WG 2.13 International Conference on Open Source Systems (OSS 2007), Limerick, Ireland, pp. 301–306 (2007)
- ^ Ardagna, C.A., Damiani, E., Frati, F.: FOCSE: An OWA-based Evaluation Framework for OS Adoption in Critical Environments. In: Proc. Third IFIP WG 2.13 International Conference on Open Source Systems, Limerick, Ireland, pp. 3–16 (2007)