Inner Source In Product Projects: A Multiple Case Study Within A Company

Abstract

Background: Inner source is the concept of applying open source development practices in the context of a company. Reported benefits of using inner source include higher-quality software and more efficient reuse of software components. While the field of inner source research has explored the traits of inner source projects whose resulting software is to be used internally, research is lacking for inner source projects that have an external party as the end customer, which we call product projects. Aim: In this thesis, we identify three especially interesting aspects of using inner source to develop product projects: feature prioritization, license issues related to third party products, and how to market the inner source project inside the company. Method: We investigate how two large inner source projects at Ericsson handle these aspects of inner source by performing a multiple case study with semistructured interviews as the primary method of data collection and thematic analysis for data analysis. Results: Through analysis of the case study we identify key practices regarding the three aspects of inner source software development under study. Conclusions: Based on the results in this thesis, we outline directions for future research on the topic of inner source in product projects.