Developer Survey Results

14 December 2011

Summary Findings

• 90% of respondents use open source in their work.

• 80% indicated they use OSS to save time and money by using existing code instead of creating code from scratch.

• The drive to be more productive is met for many respondents (62 %) by open source’s greater choice of tools, platforms, communities, and projects.

• 44% of developers contribute to open source to improve their careers and credibility. The theme of developing software to improve credibility is a common one.

• 70% percent of Outercurve survey respondents use forums to stay in touch with project communities.

OSS – Frame of Reference

Whe n I think a b o ut o p e n so urce so ftwa re I: (che ck a ll tha t a p p ly)

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

Ge

t h

ea

rt

pa

lpit

ati

on

s

be

ca

us

e I

lov

e it

so

Ap

pre

cia

te

all

of

the

gre

at

co

de

tha

t is

ou

t

Ya

wn

it b

ore

s

me

.

Wh

at

the

he

ll

is o

pe

n

so

urc

e?

What Do Respondents Use OSS For?

I use OSS fo r: (che ck a ll tha t a p p ly)

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

My work as a

developer in

corporate IT

My work as a

developer for a

hardware/ software

vendor

Fun – I like to

develop my own

projects as a hobby

Save time and

money by using

existing code instead

of creating code from

scratch

Find and use high

quality code that has

already been tested

and is constantly

being refined

Greater choice of

tools, platforms,

communities,

projects e.g. Git,

Android, Apache,

Linux, SourceForge

The Four Freedoms Open source

community street

cred

How and Why Developers Contribute

Which b e st d e scrib e s yo ur p a rtic ip a tio n in OSS p ro je ct

co mmunitie s?

I’m a project committer. (I have

write access to the code base)

I constantly contribute back to

OSS project communities.

I frequently contribute back.

I occasionally contribute back.

I use OSS, but rarely contribute

back.

I use OSS, but never contribute

back.

I use OSS, but never contribute

back - but only because my

company’s lawyers won’t let me

Wha t b e st d e scrib e s yo ur re a so ns fo r co ntrib uting o r no t

co ntrib uting to p ro je ct co mmunitie s? Che ck a ll tha t a p p ly .

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

I c

on

trib

ute

ba

ck

be

ca

us

e I

wa

nt

to

giv

e b

ac

k a

nd

I c

on

trib

ute

ba

ck

be

ca

us

e it

be

ne

fits

my

re

pu

tati

on

an

d

I c

on

trib

ute

ba

ck

be

ca

us

e it

’s

req

uir

ed

ac

co

rdin

g

I’d

lik

e t

o c

on

trib

ute

ba

ck

, b

ut

I d

on

’t

kn

ow

ho

w.

I h

ad

no

ide

a I

wa

s

su

pp

os

ed

to

co

ntr

ibu

te b

ac

k.

Maintaining Project Activity

Ho w d o yo u ke e p in to uch with yo ur d e ve lo p e r co mmunity?

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

Forges Forums Wikis IRC Other

How do you keep OSS projects going? (Check all that apply.)

0.0%5.0%

10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%30.0%35.0%40.0%45.0%50.0%

Meritocracy approach Rewards and incentives

to encourage active

contribution

Community – we’ve built

and maintain an active

community of developers

committed to projects

PR/ marketing – we

promote the project and

encourage participation

through PR and

marketing

Open source software

foundations – we rely on

the support and

resources of an open

source software

foundation/ organization

(Examples: Free

Software, Apache, Perl,

Eclipse, Mozilla,

Outercurve, Linux

Self reliance – do the

best I/ we can on my/ our

own

I don’t – I don’t manage

any OSS projects

NA (not applicable) – I

don’t use OSS

Top 3 Barriers to Using OSS

Most Underappreciated Project

Making Use of OSS Foundations

Do yo u o r d o e s yo ur co mp a ny/o rg a niza tio n re ly o n OSS

o rg a niza tio ns like the Linux Fo und a tio n, the Fre e So ftwa re

Fo und a tio n, the Ap a che Fo und a tio n a nd /o r the Oute rcurve

Fo und a tio n?Yes, I/we rely on OSS

support foundations to

facilitate our use of OSS as

well as contributing back to

the community.

No, I/we don’t work with such

foundations.

I’m aware of OSS support

foundations, but I’m not

certain of their purpose and

how it applies to me and/or

my company/organization.

I don’t know anything about

OSS support organizations.

Favorite Mascot

Developer Experience

Ho w lo ng ha ve yo u b e e n d e ve lo p ing so ftwa re ?

More than 40 years

30-40 years

20-30 years

10-20 years

5-10 years

2-5 years

Just getting started

Demographics