A Human Capital Index for Open Source Software Development
Saya Onoue · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · 2018
Software development is a very human-intensive activity.This dissertation proposes a framework for Open Source Software (OSS) that represents human factors as Human Capital.This Human Capital framework is a benchmark to measure the reliability and sustainability of OSS projects.To propose a framework for OSS Human Capital, first a systematic mapping study was carried out that classified 78 studies into four dimensions: (1) capacity for skill attainment, (2) deployment for a workforce, (3) development for access to learning, and (4) know-how for knowledge sharing.The key outcome is a set of 13 indicators and 12 metrics for constructing a Human Capital Index (HCI).The dimension of deployment and know-how are studied through the population structure of 90 OSS projects, using a demographic approach.This dissertation proposes software population pyramids, which represent the deployment and know-how dimensions of Human Capital.The second study investigates the characteristics of contributors' activities in OSS development for capacity.The final study is the construction and evaluation of the HCI framework.This empirical study evaluates the HCI of OSS projects and clarifies the metrics that affect OSS Human Capital.Furthermore, the HCI dimension plot is useful for comparing human activity in OSS projects.This dissertation provides an evidence-based comprehensive framework to help practitioners understand the Human Capital in their projects.