The growing trend of open-source software development provides a compelling alternative to commercial applications. However, project leaders should consider the potential drawbacks as well as benefits before adopting an open-source project management solution. This new series will offer guidance.
Before e-mail, web browsers, and collaboration software, project management was still executed with a pad of paper and a No. 2 pencil. Even before modern writing tools, The Great Pyramids, the Great Wall of China and the Roman Coliseum were all managed without a single email or a Microsoft Project license. Fortunately, project management tools have advanced to automate previously manual and time-consuming tasks.
As an organization’s project management discipline matures, project management tools are provided to support projects, ranging from simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to robust enterprisewide portfolio management systems. The tools provide a wide range of functionality with proportional price tags — a single MS-Project 2003 license is $599, while a full-feature project portfolio management system can cost more than $100,000 depending on the enterprise’s scope. Additional training, consulting and ongoing maintenance costs also increase the total cost of ownership.
The growing trend of open-source software development provides an alternative to commercial software products. Project managers can take advantage of open-source project management tools without incurring the substantial costs of commercial software packages. However, several considerations need to be made before adopting an open-source project management solution.
What is open-source software?
Software is commonly distributed in one of the following forms: · Commercial software — Software that is designed and developed for sale to the public. Copyrights and patents protect the software’s intellectual property. Windows XP, MS-Office, Adobe Photoshop are all examples of commercial software. · Shareware — Copyrighted software that is distributed for free on a trial basis. After the trial period, the users must pay a fee to continue its use and receive support. Winzip, PKZIP, and most trial version software products are commonly distributed as shareware. · Freeware — Software distributed without a fee. The intellectual property is still retained by the owner. However, the owner has the right to issue a new version of the software under a commercial license. Spyware removal tools and MP3 software and are commonly distributed as freeware. · Public domain software — Copyright-free software that is released to the public domain and can be distributed without a fee. The programs can be used as components for other software programs with any restrictions. Software developers may release small programs and useful utilities to aid other software developers. Support and software updates are not usually available and the software is obtained in an "as in" condition. · Open-source — Software that makes its source code freely available for the world to use, modify, and redistribute under an open-source license agreement. Anyone can modify the software, create a new version, and package it for sale. Firefox, an alternative web browser to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, the Linux operating system, and the Apache web server are all distributed as open-source software.
The key characteristic of open-source software is that users have access to the underlying source code. Since the source code is included with the product, the organization can modify the source code, improve the existing functionality, and fix defects without contacting a commercial vendor. Open-source software allows organizations to use the software for any purpose and can install the software on as many computers as the wish. The software can also be repackaged and redistributed to other users for free or at a cost.
What are the benefits?
The obvious benefit of open-source software is it is available to the masses for free. Organizations can adopt open-source technologies without paying a license fee or an annual maintenance fee. The software can be installed on an unlimited number of computers without incurring a per-user fee. Adopters of open-source solutions have the right to use the software in any means necessary.
Since the software’s source code is made available to the organization, the code can be improved without waiting for the vendor to provide a new version. Commercial software vendors typically solicit functionality requests from their customer base and plan new functionality in future versions. Customers can suggest new features; however, the vendor makes the prioritization. Instead of waiting for a future software version, the organization can modify the code and implement the feature in the core product.
Organizations can also rely on the community of software developers to implement new features in addition to their in-house staff. Instead of relying on one software vendor, open-source adopters have a community of developers available to them. All open-source adopters benefit from the community development instead of a single vendor or customer.
The low-cost of acquiring the software, the ability to independently modify the code, and the community of developers providing new enhancements make open source a viable alternative to commercial software. However, the total cost of ownership also needs to be taken into consideration.
What are the drawbacks?
Open-source software may be free however, training, support, and on-going maintenance needs to be included in the total cost of open-source ownership. Organizations implementing open-source technologies still need to train their staff, invest time and training dollars to develop a core competency.
Ongoing support for the product is also an issue. Open-source vendors may provide the software for free, but charge to support and consult on the product. Since a community of developers supports open-source solutions, there are no guarantees that the community will respond to fix a defect or implement new functionality.
If the open-source software is useful to a large population, it will attract additional developers to support and enhance the product. However, if the open-source software does not have a strong community base, organizations will be left supporting the product on their own. Commercial software provides committed resources to product support while open-source support is voluntary.
It can be difficult to determine if an open-source solution is currently active. Open-source solutions have fewer advertising dollars than commercial software unless companies are willing to invest in marketing the open-source solution. Organizations need to consider the support for open-source solutions and the current project status before applying the technology to a core business process.
Security is also a concern with open-source solutions. Since the source code is available to the community, there are no guarantees that the code is free of any viruses or malicious software. An unethical developer can code security holes in the solution and organizations need to be aware of the underlying code and its use before implementation. Risk management needs to be applied to any new open-source solution and organization’s need to be aware of potential security risks.
Open-source solutions may be acquired for free, but don’t let the low price tag fool you. The total cost of ownership needs to be considered before implementing any free tool. An unsupported open-source product is just as bad as a commercial product with poor customer support.
How does this relate to project management?
Project management can be executed with or without commercial or open-source tools. However, appropriate tools help manage the process, and open-source tools can provide an alternative to the high costs of commercial project management solutions. In a climate where organizations continually seek to reduce costs, open-source project management tools provide a compelling alternative.
Open-source tools are not limited to web servers, operating systems and development languages. A variety of project management tools are emerging, and project managers can benefit. The next four articles in this series will review open-source project management tools, including scheduling software, communication packages, office productivity tools and project management systems.
This article was written by Andy Makar and originally published at http://www.projectsatwork.com/content/Articles/226064.cfm
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