Open Development
Open Source Software is defined not just by the type of licenses, but also by a certain kind of development and governance that is open to the community of developers.
Here is a proposal in that sense, from http://feather.planetapache.org/2006/03/08/should-osi-redefine-the-label-open-source/
Description
Gianugo [1]:
"I would rather see the OSI, or an entirely new entity, patronise this concept, which should be fairly easy (though not trivial) to protect as there might be some objective criteria to tell open development from plain Open Source. A first stab at what these criteria could be:
1. an Open Source license, of course;
2. a non-discriminatory access to the developer’s community;
3. a well-defined and stated process for people to get involved;
4. a neutral and self-elected governing body;
5. (more difficult, could mean having a preferential lane) a neutral party such as a foundation owning the code.
The OSI (or its spinoff, or whatever) would assert whether a community deserves the status of “open development”, much like today the OSI is approving licenses. The process could be standardised by providing “open development processes” in terms of bylaws and charters which could then be just applied via find/replace much like what happens today with licenses. The specific authorization to use the “brand” should be temporary and subject to arbitration if someone complains about a community not respecting the self-inflicted rules." (http://feather.planetapache.org/2006/03/08/should-osi-redefine-the-label-open-source/)
Managing Open Source Software
- A Highly Efficient Waste of Effort: Open Source Software Development as a Specific System of Collective Production by Jochen Gläser (Research School of Social Sciences; The Australian National University)
"It appears to be very difficult to capture the distinctness of open source software production in a general theoretical framework. The only theoretical framework that compares alternative modes of collective production is transaction cost theory, which is an economic rather than sociological approach to the organization of work and therefore tends to neglect the problem of coordination. This paper describes open source software production in a sociological framework of collective production, i.e. in a framework that emphasizes the actor constellations and the systems of actions that characterize modes of collective production. A generalized sociological description of open source software production is derived from published empirical studies. On the basis of this description, open source software production can be compared to the known systems of collective production, namely markets, organizations and networks. The comparisons reveal necessary conditions for the functioning as well as specific advantages of producing communities."
"The ideology of open source software development is spearheading a shift in the way we approach the process of software development. Not only is it changing the perception of costs associated with projects, but also the management aspect of these development processes. The management of open source projects is very different from a traditional project due to the inherent nature of the objectives, team structure and the benefits involved. Several studies have examined various issues related to the management of these projects. However there is a lack of a study that puts together all the findings so that the interrelationships between these findings can be explored. This study tries to overcome this shortcoming and present the findings of other studies in a comprehensive manner and at the same time look at the entire process from a bird' eye point of view."