Diamant

Project Title

Examination of developers of OSS projects

Researchers

E, Ilana Diamant, University of Pittsburgh

Project Abstract

The objectives of the research proposed in this report is to examine what developers of OSS projects learn from their participation in those projects by focusing on three kinds of knowledge or skills: technical - programming knowledge, collaboration skills, and skills about learning how to learn, that is about the learning process itself. We examine how the team context may impede or facilitate learning by focusing on two aspects: the network structure of the OSS project teams that are composed of developers interacting with each other while working on programming tasks, and on the cultural composition of OSS teams, which often span geographical and national boundries due to the open participation architecture of OSS projects. The research question we pose is: RQ: What do developers learn from participating in OSS development projects and what team contexts are conducive to learning?