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C.
Stephanidis(Ed.
):UniversalAccessinHCI,PartI,HCII2007,LNCS4554,pp.
312–321,2007.
Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2007DesigningforParticipationinSocio-technicalSoftwareSystemsYunwenYe1,2andGerhardFischer11CenterforLifeLongLearningandDesign,Univ.
ofColorado,Boulder,CO80503,USA2SRAKeyTechnologyLaboratory,3-12Yotsuya,Shinjuku,Tokyo160-0004,Japan{yunwen,gerhard}@colorado.
eduAbstract.
Participativesoftwaresystemsareanewclassofsoftwaresystemswhosedevelopmentdoesnotendatthedeploymentbutrequirescontinueduserparticipationandcontribution.
Theyneedtoprovidebothsolutionstousersandaparticipationframeworkthatentailstechnicalandsocialchallenges.
Meta-designisapromisingapproachtoguidethedevelopmentofparticipativesoftwaresystems.
DrawingonlessonslearnedfromasystematicanalysisofOpenSourceSoftwareprojects,thispaperdescribedgeneralissuesthatneedtobeaddressedtoenableandencouragecontinueduserparticipationduringthemeta-designprocess.
Keywords:meta-design,participativesoftwaresystem,socio-technicalenvironment,systemevolution,communityofpractice,OpenSourceSoftware.
1IntroductionWehavebeenobservingtherapidemergenceofanewtypeofsoftwaresystemsthatarebasedonthecontributionsbyacommunityofusers[18].
Systems,suchasWikipedia,Flickr,andOpenSourceSoftware(OSS)projects,thatarecreatedthroughthecollaborationofmanycontributorswhoareregardedasequalpartnersbybringingtheiruniquesetofskillsandexpertisetoshapethefunctionalityandutilityofthesoftwaresystems.
Wecallsuchsoftwaresystemsasparticipativesoftwaresystems(PSS)whosedesigndoesnotendatthetimeofdeploymentandwhosesuccesshingesoncontinuedparticipationsandcontributionsofusersatusetime.
Participativesoftwaresystemsneedtobeevolvedcontinuouslyatthehandofuserstoachievethebestfitbetweenthesystemanditsever-changingcontextofuse,problems,domains,users,andcommunitiesofusers.
Insuchsystems,therolesofusersanddevelopersareblurredanddesignextendsintousetime.
Thedesignofparticipativesoftwaresystems,therefore,presentsachallengeofcreatingnewmethodologicalframeworksthatre-delineatetherolesofdevelopersandusers,re-distributethedesignactivitiesoverthelifecycleofthesoftwaresystems,andgiveequalimportancetothedesignoftechnicalfunctionalityandthedesignofsocialconditionsforwideandsustainedparticipationofusers.
Meta-design[3]isanewdesignmethodologythatwehaveproposedtoaddresstheabovechallenge.
Meta-designcharacterizesobjectives,techniques,andprocessesforDesigningforParticipationinSocio-technicalSoftwareSystems313creatingnewmediaandenvironmentsthatallow"ownersofproblems"(orusers)toactasdesigners.
Afundamentalobjectiveofmeta-designistocreatesocio-technicalenvironments[7]thatempoweruserstoengageactivelyinthecontinuousdevelopmentofsystemsratherthanbeingrestrictedtotheuseofexistingsystems.
Meta-designaimsatdefiningandcreatingnotonlytechnicalinfrastructuresforthesoftwaresystembutalsosocialinfrastructureinwhichuserscanparticipateactivelyasco-designerstoshapeandreshapethesocio-technicalsystemsthroughcollaboration.
Userparticipation,however,doesnotcomeautomatically.
Specificdesigndecisionshavetobemadeconscientiouslytoenableandencourageuserparticipationandcollaboration.
Thispaperdiscussestheissuesthatneedtobeaddressedduringthemeta-designprocesstoachievesustainableuserparticipation.
AfterthearticulationoftheconceptanddefiningfeaturesofparticipativesoftwaresystemsinSection2,wedescribethelessonsthatwehavelearnedfromasystematicanalysisofOSSsystems.
Drawingfromthelessons,wepresentageneralframeworkofdesigningforparticipationinSection4,followedbyasummaryinSection5.
2ParticipativeSoftwareSystemsSoftwaresystemsareknowledgeartifactswhosecreationrequiresawiderangeofknowledgefromcomputationdomainsandproblemdomains.
Systemsthatrequirerelativelylittledomainknowledgeorindomainswhererequirementscanbeclearlyarticulatedupfrontcanbedelegatedtoprofessionaldevelopersaftertheusershaveclearlyidentifiedtherequirements.
Whentherequirementscanbeonlypartiallyunderstoodordefinedprevioustotheconstructionofthesystem,professionalsoftwaredevelopersneedtoworkinclosecollaborationwithdomainexperts(asystemdesignmethodologypursuedinparticipatorydesignapproaches[15]).
Mostcomplexproblemsareill-definedproblemsthatcannotbedelegatedbecausetheyrequiretheintegrationofproblemframingandproblemsolving[13],makingitimpossibletodefinerequirementsinadvance.
Ill-definedproblemsrequirethat"back-talk"ofaproblemgoestotheownersoftheproblemhelpingthemiterativelytogainadeeperunderstandingoftheproblem[14]duringtheprocessofconstructingthesolution.
Continueduserparticipationandinvolvementinthedesignanddevelopmentofsoftwaresystemisneeded.
Weusethetermparticipativesoftwaresystem(PSS)[11]torefertothiskindofsoftwaresystems.
ThedevelopmentofPSSdoesnotendatthetimeofdeploymentbutextendsintouse.
PSSisalivingentityandasocio-technicalsystem[7]capableofintegratingcomputinginfrastructureandparticipationprocessinonesingleplatformandsupportingcollaborationnotonlyaboutdesignartifactsbutalsoaboutthegoalsofthedesignactivity.
InaPSS:1.
userscanparticipateintheevolutionofthesystemaccordingtotheircapabilitiesandonthebasisontheirowninterestorneeds;2.
userparticipation(atvariouslevels)notonlybenefitstheuser,butitalsoshapestheplatformforotherparticipantstocollaborate;and3.
asaresultofparticipation,usersandthesoftwaresystemco-evolvetoadaptthewholePSStonewsocialandtechnicaldemands.
314Y.
YeandG.
Fischer2.
1Re-definingtheRolesofUsersandDevelopersIntheworldofsoftware,usersanddevelopersareconventionallyregardedastwomutuallyexclusivegroupsofpeople.
Usersarethosepeoplewhoownaproblem,anddevelopersarethosewhoconstructsoftwaresystemsfortheusers.
However,withthewidespreaduseof,andthesociety'sincreasingrelianceon,software,thedistinctionbetweenusersanddevelopersisquicklydisappearing.
Moreandmorepeoplearenotonlyusingsoftwarebutalsogettinginvolvedindevelopingsoftwaretowidelyvaryingdegrees(Fig.
1)tosolveproblems.
Fig.
1.
Thespectrumofsoftware-relatedactivitiesTomakesoftwaredevelopmenteasier,twomajorresearchfieldshavebeenestablishedtoattackbothendsoftheabovespectrum(Fig.
1).
Softwareengineeringfocusesonthegroupofpeopleontheright,whocallsoftwaredevelopmenttheirprofession.
Theydevelopsoftwaresystemsthatareusedbyusersotherthanthemselves.
End-userdevelopment[6,8]aimstofindwaysofcreatingsoftwaresystemsthatcanbeadaptedbyend-userstotheirownuniqueneeds.
Itfocusesonthegroupofpeopleontheleftoftheabovespectrum.
Inthemiddlearepeoplewhohavecertainsoftwaredevelopmentskillsbutarenotinterestedinsoftwareperse.
Theydonotdevelopsoftwareforotherpeople;rathertheyaredevelopingsoftwaretosolvespecificproblemsthattheyown.
Thisgroupofpeoplecanbecalleddomainexpertsoftwaredevelopers(ordomainexperts)[1].
2.
2RedistributingtheDesignActivityInalldesignprocesses,twobasicstagescanbedifferentiated:designtimeandusetime[4].
Atdesigntime,systemdevelopers(withorwithoutuserparticipation)createenvironmentsandtoolsfortheworldasimaginedbythemtoanticipateusers'needsandobjectives.
Atusetime,usersusethesystemintheworldasexperienced.
Thebridgingofthesetwostagesintoaunique"design-in-use"continuumencompassinganongoingconversationbothwiththedesignmaterialandamongparticipantsdifferentiatesmeta-designfromother(moreestablished)designframeworks.
Existingdesignframeworksarebasedontheassumptionthatmajordesignactivitiesendatacertainpointafterwhichthesystementersusetime.
Meta-designcomplementsandtranscendsthesedesignmethodologiesbycreatingopenandcontinuouslyevolvablesystemsthatcanbecollaborativelyextendedandredesignedatusetimebyusersandusercommunities.
However,meta-designisnotmerelyend-usermodificationandprogramming.
Meta-designedsoftwaresystemsnotonlyprovidethetechnicalmeansforuserstocustomizeandextendthesystemsbutalsoDesigningforParticipationinSocio-technicalSoftwareSystems315providesocialandtechnicalmechanismstofacilitateuserparticipationandcollaborationduringthedesignactivities.
3DesigningforParticipation:LessonsfromOpenSourceSoftwareDevelopmentTounderstandhowuserparticipationcanbesustainedinPSS,westudiedsuccessfulexamplesofatypicalclassofPSS:OpenSourceSoftware(OSS)systems.
OSSdevelopmentisanactivityinwhichacommunityofsoftwaredeveloperscollaborativelyconstructssystemstohelpsolveproblemsofsharedinterestandformutualbenefit.
TheoriginaldesignersofanOSSsystemdonotprovideacompletesolutionthataddressesallproblemsofpotentialusers,ratherheorsheprovidesan"under-designedseed"asasolutionspacethatcanbeevolvedbyitsusersatusetimeviamakingthesourcecodeavailable[2,12].
Theabilitytochangesourcecode,thetechnologicalmeansofsharingchangesovertheInternet,andthespontaneoussocialsupportamongcommunitymembersaretheenablingconditionsforcollaborativeconstructionofsoftwarebychangingsoftwarefromafixedentitythatisproducedandcontrolledbyaclosedgroupofdesignerstoanopeneffortthatallowsacommunitytodesigncollaboratively.
However,notallOSSsystemsaresuccessfulintermsofactiveuserparticipation.
Astudy[10]of90,902OpenSourceSoftwareprojectshostedinthesourceforge.
nethasfoundthat66.
7%oftheprojectshaveonlyonedeveloper.
Tounderstandthesocio-technicalfactorsthatmakesomeOSSdevelopmentsuccessfulPSS,wehaveconductedstudiesoffiveOSSprojects:GNU,Linux,PostgreSQL,JunandGIMP[21,22].
OnecriticalfactorthatenablesthecontinualevolutionofanOSSprojectistheformingofavibrantandsustainedcommunityofpractice[20]ofdevelopers,users,anduser-turned-developers.
TherighttoaccessandmodifysourcecodeitselfdoesnotmakeOSSprojectsdifferentfrommost"ClosedSourceSoftware"ones.
Alldevelopersinaprojectinanysoftwarecompanywouldhavethesameaccessprivilege.
Thefundamentaldifferenceistheroletransformationofthepeopleinvolvedinaproject.
InClosedSourceSoftwareprojects,developersandusersareclearlydefinedandstrictlyseparated.
InOSSprojects,thereisnocleardistinctionbetweendevelopersandusers:allusersarepotentialdevelopers.
3.
1RolesandCommunityStructureinOSSCommunitiesPeopleinvolvedinaparticularOSSprojectcreateacommunityaroundtheproject.
MembersofanOSScommunityassumerolesaccordingtotheirpersonalinterestintheproject,ratherthanbeingassignedbysomeoneelse.
Amembermayhaveoneofthefollowingeightroles[9]:ProjectLeader.
ProjectLeadersareoftenthepersonwhohasinitiatedtheproject.
Theyareresponsibleforthevisionandoveralldirectionoftheproject.
CoreMember.
CoreMembersareresponsibleforguidingandcoordinatingthedevelopmentofanOSSproject.
CoreMembersarethosepeoplewhohavebeeninvolvedwiththeprojectforarelativelongtimeandhavemadesignificantcontributionstothedevelopmentandevolutionofthesystem.
316Y.
YeandG.
FischerActiveDeveloper.
ActiveDevelopersregularlycontributenewfeaturesandfixbugs;theyareoneofthemajordevelopmentforcesofOSSsystems.
PeripheralDeveloper.
PeripheralDevelopersoccasionallycontributenewfunctionalityorfeaturestotheexistingsystem.
Theircontributionisirregular,andtheperiodofinvolvementisshortandsporadic.
BugFixer.
BugFixersfixbugsthateithertheydiscoverbythemselvesorarereportedbyothermembers.
BugFixershavetoreadandunderstandasmallportionofthesourcecodeofthesystemwherethebugoccurs.
BugReporter.
BugReportersdiscoverandreportbugs;theydonotfixthebugsthemselves,andtheymaynotreadsourcecodeeither.
Theyassumethesameroleastestersinthetraditionalsoftwaredevelopmentmodel.
Reader.
Readersareactiveusersofthesystem;theynotonlyusethesystem,butalsotrytounderstandhowthesystemworksbyreadingthesourcecode.
PassiveUser.
PassiveUsersjustusethesysteminthesamewayasmostofususecommerciallyavailableClosedSourceSoftware.
TheyareattractedtoOSSmainlyduetoitshighqualityandthepotentialtobechangedwhenneeded.
ProjectLeaderCoreMembersPeripheralDevelopersBugFixersBugReportersReadersPassiveUsersActiveDevelopersProjectLeaderCoreMembersPeripheralDevelopersBugFixersBugReportersReadersPassiveUsersActiveDevelopersFig.
2.
GeneralstructureofanOSScommunityAlthoughastricthierarchicalstructuredoesnotexistinOSScommunities,thestructureofOSScommunitiesisnotcompletelyflat.
Theinfluencesthatmembershaveonthesystemandthecommunityaredifferent,dependingontherolestheyplay.
Fig.
2depictsthegenerallayeredstructureofOSScommunities,inwhichrolesclosertothecenterhavealargerradiusofinfluence.
PassiveUsershavetheleastinfluence,buttheystillplayimportantrolesinthewholecommunity.
Althoughtheydonotdirectlycontributetothedevelopmentofthesystemtechnically,theirexistencecontributessociallyandpsychologicallybyattractingandmotivatingother,moreactive,members,towhomalargepopulationofusersistheutmostrewardandflatteryoftheirhardwork[12].
DesigningforParticipationinSocio-technicalSoftwareSystems3173.
2Co-evolutionofOSSSystemsandOSSCommunitiesTherolesandtheirassociatedinfluencesinOSScommunitiescanberealizedonlythroughcontributionstothecommunity.
Rolesarenotfixed:memberscanplaylargerrolesiftheyaspireandmakeappropriatecontributions.
AsmemberschangetherolestheyplayinanOSScommunity,theyalsochangethesocialdynamics,andthusreshapethestructureofthecommunity,resultingintheevolutionofthecommunity.
ForanOSSprojecttohaveasustainabledevelopment,thesystemandthecommunitymustco-evolve.
AlargebaseofvoluntarilycontributingmembersisoneofthemostimportantsuccessfactorsofOSS.
TheevolutionofanOSScommunityiseffectedbythecontributionsmadebyitsaspiringandmotivatedmembers.
Suchcontributionsnotonlytransformtheroleandinfluenceoftheircontributorsinthecommunityandthusevolvethewholecommunity,buttheyarethesourcesoftheevolutionofthesystem.
Theoppositeisalsotrue;anymodification,improvement,andextensionmadetoanOSSsystemnotonlyevolvesthesystembutredefinestheroleofthecontributingmembersandthuschangesthesocialdynamicsoftheOSScommunity(Fig.
3).
TherolethatanOSSmemberplaysinthecommunityisnotpre-assigned,andisassumedbythememberasheorsheinteractswithothermembers.
AnaspiringmembercanbecomeaCoreMemberthroughthefollowingmigrationpath:NewmembersareattractedtoanOSScommunitybecausethesystemcansolveoneoftheirownproblems.
ThedepthandrichnessofgoodOSSsystemsoftendrivesmotivatedmemberstowanttolearnmore,toreadthesystem[16].
ThenewmembersnowmigratefromPassiveUserstoReaders.
Astheygainmoreunderstandingofthesystem,theyareabletofixthebugsthatareeitherencounteredbythemselvesorreportedbyothers.
Theymayalsowanttoaddanewtwisttothesystemtomakethesystemmorepowerfulandmoresuitablefortheirowntasks.
Astheirdevelopedprogramsaremadepubliclyavailabletoothercommunitymembers,theirrolesasBugFixersandPeripheralDevelopersarerecognizedandestablishedinthewholecommunity.
Themorecontributionstheymake,thehigherrecognitiontheyearn,andfinally,theywillenterthehighlyselected"innercircle"ofCoreMembers.
RolechangesthroughcontributionsSystemevolutionCommunityevolutionMutualdependenceRolechangesthroughcontributionsSystemevolutionCommunityevolutionMutualdependenceFig.
3.
Theco-evolutionofOSSsystemsandOSScommunities318Y.
YeandG.
FischerTheabovepathdescribesanabstractmodelofrolechangesofaspiringmembers.
NotallmemberswanttoandwillbecomeCoreMembers.
SomewillremainPassiveUsers,andsomestopsomewhereinthemiddle.
TheimportantpointisthatOpenSourceSoftwaremakesitpossibleforanaspiringandtechnicallycapablesoftwaredevelopertoplayalargerrolethroughcontinualcontributionsandengagement4DesigningforParticipation:AGeneralFrameworkDrawingfromthelessonslearnedbysystematicanalysisofOSSprojectsfromthemeta-designperspective,thissectiondescribeschallengingissuesthatneedtobeconsideredduringthemeta-designprocessofPSStoenableandencouragecontinueduserparticipation.
4.
1EmbracingUsersasCo-designersToembraceusersasco-designers,designersofPSSneedtobearinmindthattheyarenotonlyprovidingasolutiontousers,butalsoasolutionspace[18]withinwhichuserscandevelopnewsolutionstotheirspecificneeds.
Thesolutionspacecontainstechnologicalinstrumentsthatuserscanusefortheirdesignactivities,anddeterminesthedegreethatuserscanevolvetheoriginaldesign.
Currentlyavailabletechnologyinsoftwaresystemsprovidesavarietyofchoices,rangingfromthemodificationofoptions,thecustomizationofmenusandfunctions,theplug-instructureforextension,thepublishedservicesforbeingmashedupwithotherservices,thepublicationofsystemAPIforintegrationwithothersystems,andthesourcecodethatoffersthehighestfreedomforuserdevelopment.
Meta-designersofPSShavetomakeaconscientiousdecisionaccordingtohowmuchtheywanttogetuserinvolved.
4.
2ProvidingaCommonPlatformDesigncontributionsmadebyoneindividualuserarelimitedbecauseoneparticularuserisonlyinterestedincreatingsolutionsforhisorherownneeds.
Thepowerofdistributeduserdesigncomesfromthefactthattheevolutionofsystemsispushedbyalargenumberofuserswithdiversifiedneedsandskillswhoeachmakessmallcontributions.
Forthistohappen,usersneedtohaveacommonplatformsothattheycansharewitheachotherandintegratedesignsolutionsofothers.
Meta-designersneedtoeithercreateanassociatedcommontoolkitorutilizeasetofcommontoolswidelyavailabletoalluserstofacilitateeasysharingandintegration.
TheconceptofOSShasbeenpioneeredbyRichardStallman(withthetermFreeSoftware)inthe80sbutthehugesuccessofOSSsystemsbecomespossibleonlywhensoftwaredevelopmenttools—suchasEmacs,Eclipse,andCVS—becomeswidelyavailableandthedefactostandardtoolsformostsoftwaredevelopers.
4.
3EnablingLegitimatePeripheralParticipationAtransparentpolicyandprocedureisneededtoincorporatesomeofusercontributionsintotheparticipativesoftwaresystems.
Userswhomadecontributionsneedtoseethattheircontributionsmakearecognizableinfluenceonthesystem.
InDesigningforParticipationinSocio-technicalSoftwareSystems319otherwords,userparticipationhastobelegitimate[20]andtheirdesignactivitiesareregardedasanintegralpartofshapingthedirectionandfunctionalityofthesystem.
Thepossibilityfornewcomerstoparticipateperipherallyisanotherkeyaspect[19].
Toattractmoreuserstobecomedevelopers,thesystemarchitecturemustbedesignedinamodularizedwaytocreatemanyrelativelyindependenttaskswithprogressivedifficultysothatnewcomerscanstarttoparticipateperipherallyandmoveongraduallytotakechargeofmoredifficulttasks.
Thewayasystemispartitionedhasconsequencesforboththeefficiencyofparalleldevelopment—aprerequisiteforOSS—andthepossibilityofperipheralparticipation.
ThesuccessofLinuxisdueinlargeparttoitswell-designedmodularity[17].
Anotherapproachtoaffordperipheralparticipationisperhapstointentionallyreleaseunder-designedsystemtousersbyleavingsomenon-criticalpartsunimplementedtofacilitateeasyparticipation.
TheTODOlistofmostOSSsystemscreatesguidanceforparticipation.
4.
4SharingControlWhiletheoriginalmeta-designersofthePSSmayretainthemajorcontrolofthedirectionofthesystem,activeparticipatingusersneedtobegrantedcertaincontrolscommensuratewiththeirinterest,technicalskill,andcontributions.
Therolesthatadomainexpertusercanplayinthesystemaredifferentdependingontheirlevelsofinvolvement.
Eachlevelhasitsownresponsibilityandauthority.
Responsibilitywithoutauthoritycannotsustainusers'interestinfurtherinvolvement.
WhenuserschangetheirrolesinthePSSbymakingconstantcontributions,theyshouldbegrantedthematchingauthorityinthedecision-makingprocessthatshapesthesystem.
Themeta-designerneedstofindastrategicwaytotransfersomeofthecontroltoaspiringandcontributingusers.
Grantingthoseuserscontrollingauthorityhastwopositiveimpactsonsustaininguserparticipation:(1)userswhogaincontrollingauthoritybecomestakeholdersandrequireownershipinthesystemandarelikelytomakefurthercontributions;and(2)itcanattractandencouragenewuserswhowanttoinfluencethesystemdevelopmenttomakecontributions.
SuccessfulOSSprojectsinvariablyselectskilfuluser-turned-developersandgrantthemaccessprivilegetocontributingdirectlytothesourcebase.
4.
5PromotingMutualLearningandSupportUsershavedifferentlevelsofskillandknowledgeaboutthesystem.
Togetinvolvedincontributingtothesystemorusingthesystem,theyneedtolearnmanythings.
Peerusersareimportantlearningresources.
APSSshouldbeaccompaniedwithknowledgesharingmechanismsthatencourageuserstolearnfromeachother.
InOSSprojects,mailinglists,discussionforums,andchatroomsprovideanimportantplatformforknowledgetransferandexchangeamongpeerusers[5].
4.
6FosteringaSocialRewardingandRecognitionStructureMotivationtoparticipationisessentialforthesuccessofPSSs.
Factorsthataffectmotivationarebothintrinsicandextrinsic.
Thepreconditionformotivatinguserstogetinvolvedincontributionisthattheymustderiveanintrinsicsatisfactionintheir320Y.
YeandG.
Fischerinvolvementbyshapingthesoftwaresystemtosolvetheirproblems.
Intrinsicmotivationispositivelyreinforcedandamplifiedwhensocialstructureandconventionsofthecommunityrecognizeandrewardthecontributionsofitsmembers.
ThesocialfabricinherentinOSScommunitiesreinforcestheintrinsicmotivationforparticipatinginOSSprojects.
Membersclosetothecenterofthecommunityenjoybettervisibilityandreputationsthandoperipheralmembers.
Asnewmemberscontributetothesystemandthecommunity,theyarerewardedwithhigherrecognition,trust,andinfluenceinthecommunity.
Rewardingcontributingmemberswithhigherrecognitionandmoreimportantrolesisalsoimportantforthesustainabilityofthecommunityandthesystemdevelopment,becauseitisthewaythatthecommunityreproducesitself.
DevelopersofPSSsthereforeneedtoestablishasocialnormintheusercommunitiesbyrecognizingpubliclycontributingusersandpromotingthesocialstatusinthecommunitybygrantingmatchingauthority.
5SummaryPSSsrepresenttherapidlyemergingclassofsoftwaresystemswhosedevelopmentdoesnotendatthepointofdeploymentandcontinuestoevolveatthehandofparticipatingusers.
Thesuccessofmanysuchsystemsismostlyaccidentalresultingfromtheinsightsoftheiroriginaldesigners.
ExistingsoftwaredesignmethodologiesthathavemainlyfocusedonengineeringsoftwaresystemstotheneedsofusersatdesigntimearenotwellsuitedforPSSs.
Forthepastseveralyears,wehavedevelopedthemeta-designframeworktoaddressthischallenge.
Inthispaper,wedescribedgeneralissuesthatneedtobeconsideredtodesignsocio-technicalenvironmentsthatenableandencourageuserparticipation,drawingonasystematicstudyofexistingOSSprojects.
Acknowledgements.
TheauthorswouldliketothankKumiyoNakakoji,YasuhiroYamamoto,andthemembersoftheCenterforLifeLongLearning&DesignattheUniversityofColorado,whohavemademajorcontributionstotheresearchdescribedinthispaper.
Theresearchwassupported(1)bytheNationalScienceFoundation,Grants(a)IIS-0613638"SoD-Team:AMeta-DesignFrameworkforParticipativeSoftwareSystems",and(2)bySRAKeyTechnologyLaboratory,Inc.
,Tokyo,Japan.
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