American University of Beirut

Faculty of Engineering and Architecture

Engineering Management Program

This questionnaire is part of a project to be submitted to the American University of Beirut as a requirement for acquiring a Masters degree in Engineering Management. My intent is to assess whether concepts used in traditional management, such as leadership, motivation and quality, remain relevant to the success of open source software development projects.

The questions are multiple choice, so please select the most appropriate answer. For rating questions, please select the most appropriate answer where:

1= Strongly Disagree

2= Disagree

3= Neutral

4= Agree

5= Strongly Agree

Any mention of names and personal information will not be repeated in the published version of the project.

I. Leadership

The initiator of a project is involved in the actual development and coding process.

1 2 3 4 5

Developers within the team working on a certain project are given the freedom to contribute any code they find useful, and implement changes they deem necessary.

1 2 3 4 5

The initiator of a project gives other developers on the team a sense of direction.

1 2 3 4 5

Other developers often do what the initiator suggests.

1 2 3 4 5

If you are an initiator of open source projects, how many hours per week do you dedicate to writing code?

Less than 3 hours

3-7 hours

7-14 hours

More than 7 hours

Specify (hrs/week): _________________________________________

How many hours per week do you dedicate to read/discuss the contributions of others?

Less than 3 hours

3-7 hours

7-14 hours

More than 7 hours

Specify (hrs/week):__________________________________________

How is the final decision on including or excluding suggested changes resolved:

Whatever is submitted is automatically accepted.

Back and forth discussions are conducted to reach a mutual decision.

The decision is left to the initiator/administrator of the project.

Other (explain): ___________________________________________

The following is observed within messages of a project’s initiator:

encouraging people to introduce themselves,

resolving disputes,

reducing non-relevant messages,

subduing inappropriate behavior,

removing someone from the list.

The initiator of a new project is mostly concerned with producing the final software through emphasizing deadlines, conducting tests, etc.

1 2 3 4 5

The initiator of a new project is mostly concerned with social relationships with, and among, other developers on the team.

1 2 3 4 5

Tasks set by the initiator/administrator of a project are:

Very structured, standardized, and are more like a routine;

Non-standardized and left to the judgment of other contributors;

Other(explain): ___________________________________________

The initiator/administrator’s formal authority is:

Often rejected and challenged by other contributors to the software;

Automatically accepted and viewed as legitimate.

The group of developers working on one project is:

Often conflicting and splintered;

Cohesive with reinforced norms

The developers contributing to a project are:

Often unsure and hesitant about what to do;

Sure and competent in what they contribute.

Most involved developers are:

Lacking job maturity;

Experts.

Select the more appropriate description of the initiator/administrator of the project:

Often delegates key responsibilities or tasks:

Yes;

No.

Makes and communicates decisions that are

very detailed, or

Mostly general directions to other contributors.

Decisions made are mostly:

Reactive to needs as they arise;

Proactive, anticipating probable future issues.

Decisions made on project development are::

short term

long term.

Motivation sent by the initiator are

mostly for the purpose of control, offering only limited motivation,

more motivational than control-driven.

II. Motivation

Participating in an open source projects makes you feel (select all that applies):

Accomplished

Competent

Happy

You are paid to do this as a job.

1 2 3 4 5

The software you participate in programming is essentially within your paid job.

1 2 3 4 5

Participating in open source projects provides you with software that matches your day-to-day needs.

1 2 3 4 5

Because of contributing to open source software, you expect to be able to get a better job or promotion.

1 2 3 4 5

You will be able to sell training or consulting services in relation to projects you have developed.

1 2 3 4 5

Open source programmers should always help each other.

1 2 3 4 5

You are proud to be part of the open source community.

1 2 3 4 5

You participate to better your community.

1 2 3 4 5

There is a sense of belonging to the group of developers.

1 2 3 4 5

List any other sources of motivation: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

III. Quality

Before a project is initiated, plans and goals are set and defined.

1 2 3 4 5

Plans referred to in question 1 above include:

Processes and procedures to be followed throughout a project’s development;

Maintenance plans for the final product;

Reviews and tests;

Corrective action;

Other (explain): _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Deadlines of goals and phases are often met.

1 2 3 4 5

The project initiator defines the responsibilities of other developers.

1 2 3 4 5

There are ways to determine if the work done is complete.

1 2 3 4 5

The initiator of a project is involved in reviewing engineering practices to ensure sustainability.

1 2 3 4 5

The functionality and technical requirements (performance, safety, reliability) of a project are identified beforehand.

1 2 3 4 5

In the development plan, the following is taken into consideration applies (select all that applies)

Phases are defined;

Progress is controlled to meet the goals and plans;

The inputs of ach phase are defined;

The outputs of each phase are defined;

Tests, reviews, and verification practices are conducted once the software is completed.

Methodologies and guidelines are set to define the technical design of the software.

1 2 3 4 5

There are testing methods to validate the software.

1 2 3 4 5

Describe some testing methods used to validate a software (based on the answer of question 10 above):

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There are installation guidelines or services.

1 2 3 4 5

The development and maintenance of a software product is well-documented.

1 2 3 4 5

User feedback is utilized to measure the product’s quality.

1 2 3 4 5

IV. Online Projects:

Name the open source software (only one) to which your answers most relate to (Answer Required): __________________________________________________________________

Names of other software you are involved in developing: _____________________________________________________________

Names of software projects you have initiated: _____________________________________________________________

V. General Information

The information in this section is not intended to identify you. Anonymity will be maintained at all times.

Occupation: __________________________________________________

Country of residence: ___________________________________________

Gender: _____________

V. Additional Comments

Please feel free to add any comments on the content of questions and on the questionnaire in general.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1=Strongly disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neutral 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT

Dimassi

2005-10-14T21:11:00

Hania Sabbidin