Challenges in using open source software in product development: A review of the literature

Abstract

Component-Based Software Development has become a popular approach to building software intensive systems. Besides using Commercial Off-The-Shelf components, an organization may choose to use Open Source Software components. Using OSS has been reported to have many benefits, but there are also challenges involved. Understanding the potential challenges of using OSS in developing products is important for practitioners, so they become aware of them and can anticipate them and take appropriate measures to address these challenges. We have performed a thorough review of the literature to identify challenges that may arise, as reported in the literature. This paper presents and discusses these findings. Researchers can discuss potential causes and solutions of our synthesized findings as well as benefit from provided references to literature on OSS challenges as input for future research. © 2010 ACM.