Abstract
The vast majority of literature on coordination in team-based projects has drawn on a conceptual separation between explicit (e.g. plans, feedback) and implicit coordination mechanisms (e.g. mental maps, shared knowledge). This analytic distinction presents some limitations in explaining how coordination is reached in organizations characterized by distributed teams, scarce face to face meetings and fuzzy and changing lines of authority, as in free/libre open source software (FLOSS) development.Analyzing empirical illustrations from two FLOSS projects, we highlight the existence of a peculiar model, stigmergic coordination, which includes aspects of both implicit and explicit mechanisms. The work product itself (implicit) and the characteristics under which it is shared (explicit) play an under-appreciated role in helping software developers manage dependencies as they arise. We develop this argument beyond the existing literature by working with an existing coordination framework, considering the role that the codebase itself might play at each step. We also discuss the features and the practices to support stigmergic coordination in distributed teams, as well as recommendations for future research.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 14-22 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Cognitive Systems Research |
| Volume | 38 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2016 |
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Keywords
- Coordination mechanisms
- Distributed teams
- FLOSS teams
- Stigmergic coordination
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Artificial Intelligence
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Cite this
Stigmergic coordination in FLOSS development teams : Integrating explicit and implicit mechanisms. / Bolici, Francesco; Howison, James; Crowston, Kevin G.
In: Cognitive Systems Research, Vol. 38, 01.06.2016, p. 14-22.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Stigmergic coordination in FLOSS development teams
T2 - Integrating explicit and implicit mechanisms
AU - Bolici, Francesco
AU - Howison, James
AU - Crowston, Kevin G
PY - 2016/6/1
Y1 - 2016/6/1
N2 - The vast majority of literature on coordination in team-based projects has drawn on a conceptual separation between explicit (e.g. plans, feedback) and implicit coordination mechanisms (e.g. mental maps, shared knowledge). This analytic distinction presents some limitations in explaining how coordination is reached in organizations characterized by distributed teams, scarce face to face meetings and fuzzy and changing lines of authority, as in free/libre open source software (FLOSS) development.Analyzing empirical illustrations from two FLOSS projects, we highlight the existence of a peculiar model, stigmergic coordination, which includes aspects of both implicit and explicit mechanisms. The work product itself (implicit) and the characteristics under which it is shared (explicit) play an under-appreciated role in helping software developers manage dependencies as they arise. We develop this argument beyond the existing literature by working with an existing coordination framework, considering the role that the codebase itself might play at each step. We also discuss the features and the practices to support stigmergic coordination in distributed teams, as well as recommendations for future research.
AB - The vast majority of literature on coordination in team-based projects has drawn on a conceptual separation between explicit (e.g. plans, feedback) and implicit coordination mechanisms (e.g. mental maps, shared knowledge). This analytic distinction presents some limitations in explaining how coordination is reached in organizations characterized by distributed teams, scarce face to face meetings and fuzzy and changing lines of authority, as in free/libre open source software (FLOSS) development.Analyzing empirical illustrations from two FLOSS projects, we highlight the existence of a peculiar model, stigmergic coordination, which includes aspects of both implicit and explicit mechanisms. The work product itself (implicit) and the characteristics under which it is shared (explicit) play an under-appreciated role in helping software developers manage dependencies as they arise. We develop this argument beyond the existing literature by working with an existing coordination framework, considering the role that the codebase itself might play at each step. We also discuss the features and the practices to support stigmergic coordination in distributed teams, as well as recommendations for future research.
KW - Coordination mechanisms
KW - Distributed teams
KW - FLOSS teams
KW - Stigmergic coordination
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cogsys.2015.12.003
DO - 10.1016/j.cogsys.2015.12.003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84958107516
VL - 38
SP - 14
EP - 22
JO - Cognitive Systems Research
JF - Cognitive Systems Research
SN - 1389-0417
ER -