The Impact of Free and Open Source Software(FOSS) on Developers’ Productivity

Abstract: Despite the abundance of literature on free and open source software (FOSS), its impact on individual developers’ productivity is a topic that is under explored. Moreover, the traditional measures of developers’ productivity are based on objective measures (lines of code) instead of subjective measures (self-rated productivity). To bridge this gap and add new knowledge to existing literature, the study explored the impact of FOSS on developers’ productivity based on self-rated productivity measure. Hence, the study used an exploratory approach of qualitative research, a theoretical framework and interviews as a method of data collection. The findings indicate that FOSS actually has a positive impact on developers’ productivity and the rate of adoption is high among young and experienced developers. However, the risks and security challenges that come with FOSS based on its open model actually creates room for lack of trust and thus can reduce the adoption rate. Though FOSS has improved developers’ productivity when it comes to software development, the issues of poor documentation and lack of documentation encountered when trying to modify or enhance FOSS actually hinder developers’ productivity. Hence the free and open source software community should come up with ways of tackling these challenges in order for the developers to be more productive.