Autor: Matthias Müller, BSc
Titel: Applying Service Design on Free Open Source Software (FOSS)
Erscheinungsjahr: 2017
Hochschule: Graz University of Technology
Master: Software Development and Business Management
Quelle: https://repository.tugraz.at/publications/yq1qq-qwe76
This master’s thesis takes a closer look at how open-source software projects actually work. While open-source tools are built “by users, for users” and have changed the tech world in many ways, their success often depends on more than good code. The author uses service design methods to explore the Austrian open source project “Catrobat”, mapping everyone involved, their roles, and how they work together. The goal is to find out what helps or holds back open-source projects and how better collaboration and understanding can lead to more innovation long-term success.
Presentation quality
Overall, the master’s is well made, the layout is simple yet fitting, since the layout itself probably wasn’t part of the scope. Simple paragraphs, some graphics and pictures, highlighted quotes, nothing special, although you could find some gaps in the text due to the full justification. Long, bloated sentences and swollen language make the text difficult to read. But the arguments made follow a logically form, from explaining the open-source context to applying service design tools.
Degree of innovation & independence
What stood out to me is how service design is connected to the world of open-source software, since any design practices are usually hard to be implemented into open source projects. The work shows a high level of independence, especially in how the author adapts existing design tools to fit the unique dynamics of Catrobat. Although making assumptions for the whole world of open source might be a bit farfetched, since open source projects can be very different, not only in size but number of users, supporters or funders, distribution channels and much more. Meaning this is a great case study but doesn’t really contribute to making the open source more design friendly.
Organization and structure
The thesis is well structures, although sometimes hard to understand. The author is very thorough, service design & Catrobat are both very well defined and explained. Before using a service design tool, the author explains the reason for using it first, explains the process, shows the results and their conclusion in the end. The flow of the work seems natural, and additionally the usage of graphics and pictures, as well as bullet points really help to clarify.
Communication
Like I have said before, the language is hard to understand, or in other words very academic. However, this might just be due to my background being in design and not more science driven studies, like computer science or information technology. In the eyes of a student of the technical university of Graz, the tone might be common.
Scope
The topic is handled with an appropriate level of detail overall, although personally I would have pot emphasis on different topics, as the author did. Catrobat is explained in a lot of detail, while user research or testing of proposed improvements fell short, although those are key elements of servicer design.
Accuracy and attention to detail
Citations are well made, if they are taken word by word, they are visually different from the rest of the text. Footnotes as well as inline citations are flawless and all figures are accurately described. I also couldn’t find any grammar or spelling mistakes, luckily writing software like microsoft word gets better at catching those mistakes.
Literature
The literature review is solid, with relevant sources from design, service research, and technology studies. It combines classic design theory with more recent publications about open collaboration. The references are well integrated and show that the author understands the academic conversation around the topic
My personal reason to pick out a master’s thesis like this one was to get a better grasp on open source in general, since I want to write my thesis about the same topic, although with a different scope. I used this exercise to get more insight into the opinions of non designers working on open source software. But as I pointed out, grasping the topic and the conclusion was hard, due to me not being able to understand and comprehend the way sentences were written.
Disclaimer:
This blog post was supported by AI (ChatGPT) to help with structuring and phrasing.
