Community Building for Open Source Business Applications: The Core-Extensions-Themes Pattern
Jonathan P. Allen · USF Scholarship Repository (University of San Francisco) · 2009
Abstract Open source business applications will require community contribu-tions from business experts with relatively modest technical skills. This position paper briefly examines how active communities have developed around open source platforms that separate core programming code from functional add-ons and user interface add-ons, and how this separation encourages the sharing of spe-cialized business application knowledge. My interest is in finding community and project structures that accelerate the development of open source applications for business. Open Source Business Applications are a Challenge Open source software has its roots in developers writing software for their own needs, or programmers “scratching their own itch ” to use Raymond’s phrase [2]. Developers are less likely to have expert knowledge of business needs, making open source development for business applications a challenge [4]. Developing effective user interfaces for business applications can be a challenge for similar reasons [5].