Exploring the Open Source Software Development Methology as Barrier to Adoption

The open source development methodology was seen by many as the development paradigm that would reshape the software industry as it boasted unique and unconventional characteristics that traditional development methodology could not match. However, despite all its potentials, the adoption of open source software at the end-user level remains moderate or at least failed to keep pace with the initial expectations. The aim of the paper is to identify and discuss major challenges for open source software, so as to facilitate end-users adoption. The paper argues that nature of OSS development methodology encourages the elimination of key activities during the design and development phase thus creating implicit adoption barriers.