Understanding how and why open source contributors use diagrams in the development of Ubuntu

Some of the most interesting differences between Open Source Software (OSS) development and commercial colocated software development lie in the communication and collaboration practices of these two groups of developers. One interesting practice is that of diagramming. Though well studied and important in many aspects of co-located software development (including communication and collaboration among developers), its role in OSS development has not been thoroughly studied. In this paper, we report our investigation on how and why Ubuntu contributors use diagrams in their work. Our study shows that diagrams are not actively used in many scenarios where they commonly would in co-located software development efforts. We describe differences in the use and practices of diagramming, their possible reasons, and present design considerations for potential systems aimed at better supporting diagram use in OSS development. Author Keywords Diagramming, visual representation, software developme...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Koji Yatani, Eunyoung Chung, Carlos Jensen, Khai N. Truong
• Keywords: CHI 2009, Co-located Software Development, Human Computer Interaction, OSS Development, Software Development Lie