Several methods have been created to define an assessment process for free/open-source software. Some focus on some aspects like the maturity, the durability and the strategy of the organisation around the open-source project itself. Other methodologies add functional aspects to the assessment process.
Existing methodologies
There are more than 20 different OSS evaluation methods.[1]
Atos Origin Method for Qualification and Selection of Open Source Software (QSOS)[12]
Observatory for Innovation and Technological transfer on Open Source software (OITOS)[13]
Framework for OS Critical Systems Evaluation (FOCSE)[14]
Comparison
Comparison criteria
Stol and Babar have proposed a comparison framework for OSS evaluation methods. Their framework lists criteria in four categories: criteria related to the context in which the method is to be used, the user of the method, the process of the method, and the evaluation of the method (e.g., its validity and maturity stage).
The comparison presented below is based on the following (alternative set of) criteria:
Seniority : the methodology birth date.
Original authors/sponsors : original methodology authors and sponsoring entity (if any)
License : Distribution and usage license for the methodology and the resulting assessments
Assessment model :
Detail levels : several levels of details or assessment granularity
Predefined criteria : the methodology provides some predefined criteria
Technical/functional criteria : the methodology permits the use of domain specific criteria based on technical information or features
Scoring model :
Scoring scale by criterion
Iterative process : the assessment can be performed and refined using several steps improving the level of details
Criteria weighting : it is possible to apply weighting on the assessed criteria as part of the methodology scoring model
Comparison : the comparison process is defined by the methodology
^Klaas-Jan Stol, Muhammad Ali Babar. "A Comparison Framework for Open Source Software Evaluation Methods" published in OSS 2010 proceedings. IFIP AICT vol. 319, pp. 389-394.
^V. Del Bianco, L. Lavazza, S. Morasca, D. Taibi and D. Tosi.: Quality of Open Source Software: The QualiPSo Trustworthiness Model. In: proc. 5th IFIP WG 2.13 International Conference on Open Source Systems, OSS 2009, Skövde, Sweden, June 3–6, 2009. Proceedings
^V. Del Bianco, L. Lavazza, S. Morasca, D. Taibi and D. Tosi.: The QualiSPo approach to OSS product quality evaluation. ACM/IEEE, In Proceedings of the IEEE International Workshop on Free Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) – Colocated with ICSE, 2010
^D.Taibi: Towards a trustworthiness model for Open Source Software:How to evaluate Open Source Software. LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. 2010. ISBN3844389687
^"QualOSS – CETIC". cetic.be. European Commission. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
^Koponen, T., Hotti, V.: Evaluation framework for open source software. In: Proc. Software Engineering and Practice (SERP), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, June 21–24 (2004)
^Sung, W.J., Kim, J.H., Rhew, S.Y.: A Quality Model for Open Source Software Selec- tion. In: Proc. Sixth International Conference on Advanced Language Processing and Web Information Technology, Luoyang, Henan, China, pp. 515–519 (2007)
^Atos Origin: Method for Qualification and Selection of Open Source software (QSOS) version 1.6, Technical Report (2006)
^Cabano, M., Monti, C., Piancastelli, G.: Context-Dependent * Evaluation Methodology for Open Source Software. In: Proc. Third IFIP WG 2.13 International Conference on Open Source Systems (OSS 2007), Limerick, Ireland, pp. 301–306 (2007)
^Ardagna, C.A., Damiani, E., Frati, F.: FOCSE: An OWA-based Evaluation Framework for OS Adoption in Critical Environments. In: Proc. Third IFIP WG 2.13 International Conference on Open Source Systems, Limerick, Ireland, pp. 3–16 (2007)
