Reading an article on the open source maturity model, I found myself asking how am I estimating the usefullness of a project and its adoption in my current projects.
The process through which I adopt/reject one project is quiet easy (and not so mathematical as in the article). I have a refined requirements description. I gather any info available and I choose the possible candidates - sometimes between the candidates I can find projects that do not provide the 100% solution, but they present a nice idea that can help me. I always start the investigation by looking at:
- the licensing process
- version number
- release iterations (how often the guys came up with a release)
- the latest release date
Each one gives me kindda idea of what is going on with it. For example:
- licensing process
- in many cases imposed by the company
- version number
- project maturity
- release iterations
- the guys are really supporting the product or it is just a toy
- latest release date
- is it still alive? (if not, it may mean they have reached a deadend)
If the analysed project passes the above criteria, a new set of tests come into play.
- is threre documentation available on site?
- the guys are doing a proffy job
- is there any publication?
- there is interest in the project - I'm trusting the marketing guys from publishers ;-)
- do the project has a large community? (are there any mailing list, forums, etc)
- the project is adopted
- how much alive is the community? (how often a post is made, how soon you can get an answer, are the dev guys involved in solving user problems?)
- the project offers good support
After doing all of these, only a few are left on the podium. The real adoption testing can begin!
Reference:
Open Source Maturity Model (OSMM)
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