Applying SCRUM in an OSS development process: An empirical evaluation

Abstract

Open Source Software development often resembles Agile models. In this paper, we report about our experience in using SCRUM for the development of an Open Source Software Java tool. With this work, we aim at answering the following research questions: 1) is it possible to switch successfully to the SCRUM methodology in an ongoing Open Source Software development process? 2) is it possible to apply SCRUM when the developers are geographically distributed? 3) does SCRUM help improve the quality of the product and the productivity of the process? We answer to these questions by identifying a set of measures and by comparing the data we collected before and after the introduction of SCRUM. The results seem to show that SCRUM can be introduced and used in an ongoing geographically distributed Open Source Software process and that it helps control the development process better. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.