TY - JOUR T1 - Collaboration through superposition: How the IT artifact as an object of collaboration affords technical interdependence without organizational interdependence JF - MIS Quarterly Y1 - 2014 A1 - Howison, James A1 - Kevin Crowston KW - FLOSS AB - This paper develops a theory of collaboration through superposition: the process of depositing separate layers on top of each other over time. The theory is developed in a study of development of community-based Free and Open Source Software (FLOSS), through a research arc of discovery (participant observation), replication (two archival case studies) and formalization (a model of developer choices). The theory explains two key findings: 1) the overwhelming majority of work is accomplished with only a single programmer working on a task and 2) when tasks appear too large for an individual they are more likely to be deferred until they are easier, rather than being undertaken through structured teamwork. It is theorized that this way of organizing is key to successful open collaboration where the IT artifact is the object of collaboration, because it allows the co-production of technically interdependent artifacts through motivationally interdependent work. The affordances of software as an object of collaboration are used as a framework to analyze efforts to learn from FLOSS in other domains of work and in the IS function of for-profit organizations. VL - 38 UR - http://misq.org/collaboration-through-open-superposition.html ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Free/Libre Open Source Software Development: What we know and what we do not know JF - ACM Computing Surveys Y1 - 2012 A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Wei, Kangning A1 - Howison, James A1 - Wiggins, Andrea KW - FLOSS AB - We review the empirical research on Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) development and assess the state of the literature. We develop a framework for organizing the literature based on the input-mediator-output- input (IMOI) model from the small groups literature. We present a quantitative summary of articles selected for the review and then discuss findings of this literature categorized into issues pertaining to inputs (e.g., member characteristics, technology use and project characteristics), processes (software development and social processes), emergent states (e.g., trust and task related states) and outputs (e.g. team performance, FLOSS implementation and project evolution). Based on this review, we suggest topics for future research, as well as identifying methodological and theoretical issues for future inquiry in this area, including issues relating to sampling and the need for more longitudinal studies. VL - 44 ER - TY - UNPB T1 - Stigmergy and Implicit Coordination in Software Development Y1 - 2011 A1 - Howison, James A1 - Ă˜sterlund, Carsten A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Bolici, Francesco ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Validity issues in the use of social network analysis with digital trace data JF - Journal of the Association for Information Systems Y1 - 2011 A1 - Howison, James A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Wiggins, Andrea KW - Information System KW - Social Network Analysis KW - Virtuality AB - There is an exciting natural match between social network analysis methods and the growth of data sources produced by social interactions via information technologies, from online communities to corporate information systems. Information Systems researchers have not been slow to embrace this combination of method and data. Such systems increasingly provide "digital trace data" that provide new research opportunities. Yet digital trace data are substantively different from the survey and interview data for which network analysis measures and interpretations were originally developed. This paper examines ten validity issues associated with the combination of data digital trace data and social network analysis methods, with examples from the IS literature, to provide recommendations for improving the validity of research using this combination. VL - 12 UR - http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol12/iss12/2/ ER - TY - CONF T1 - Work as coordination and coordination as work: A process perspective on FLOSS development projects T2 - Third International Symposium on Process Organization Studies Y1 - 2011 A1 - Kevin Crowston A1 - Ă˜sterlund, Carsten A1 - Howison, James A1 - Bolici, Francesco JF - Third International Symposium on Process Organization Studies CY - Corfu, Greece UR - http://www.process-symposium.com/ ER -