Design, discussion, and dissent in open bug reports

While studies have considered computer-mediated decision-making in several domains, few have considered the unique challenges posed in software design. To address this gap, a qualitative study of 100 contentious open source bug reports was performed. The results suggest that the immeasurability of many software qualities and conflicts between achieving original design intent and serving changing user needs led to a high reliance on anecdote, speculation, and generalization. The visual presentation of threaded discussions aggravated these problems making it difficult to view design proposals and comparative critiques. The results raise several new questions about the interaction between authority and evidence in online design discussions. Categories and Subject Descriptors H.5.3 [Group and Organization Interfaces] General Terms Documentation, Design, Human Factors. Keywords Change requests, design rationale, open source, Bugzilla

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: ICONFERENCE
• Authors: Andrew Jensen Ko, Parmit K. Chilana
• Keywords: Contentious Open Source, Design, ICONFERENCE 2011, Information Technology, Open Source