Research Section

Usability processes in open source projects

  1. David M. Nichols1,*,
  2. Michael B. Twidale2

Article first published online: 11 MAY 2006

DOI: 10.1002/spip.256

Issue

Software Process: Improvement and Practice

Software Process: Improvement and Practice

Special Issue: Special Issue on Free or Open Source Software Development (F/OSSD) Projects

Volume 11, Issue 2, pages 149–162, March/April 2006

Additional Information

How to Cite

Nichols, D. M. and Twidale, M. B. (2006), Usability processes in open source projects. Software Process: Improvement and Practice, 11: 149–162. doi: 10.1002/spip.256

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Computer Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

  2. 2

    Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA

*Department of Computer Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 11 MAY 2006
  2. Article first published online: 11 MAY 2006

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Keywords:

  • open source;
  • usability;
  • interface design;
  • bug reporting

Abstract

We explore how some open source projects address issues of usability. We describe the mechanisms, techniques and technology used by open source communities to design and refine the interfaces to their programs. In particular we consider how these developers cope with their distributed community, lack of domain expertise, limited resources and separation from their users. We also discuss how bug reporting and discussion systems can be improved to better support bug reporters and open source developers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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