Background & Project Content

Open-source software (OSS) projects are based on a self-organized organizational structure. They are carried out by groups of developers that share experiences, information, and ideas, and work together to create solutions that are freely available. Many businesses and government organizations are considering or already using open source software (OSS), but are unsure if it meets all their needs.

As part of the CrOSSD project, we are developing a platform that helps to check the quality of OSS projects and to facilitate decision making when picking a product. There are metrics, best practices, and scores available to analyze the "health" of OSS projects, but they usually focus on a single aspect only. By contrast, we take a holistic approach and combine a variety of measures (including stability, resilience, security, and compliance) to assess OSS quality.

Target groups

CrOSSD is aimed at different target groups. One of them is the OSS communities themselves, who can use the CrOSSD platform to raise the visibility of their projects and as a result attract long-term support. CrOSSD can also improve coordination between developers, who often come from diverse industries and are based all around the globe

Another target group includes institutions, funding agencies, public authorities, commercial stakeholders, foundations, etc., who are generally willing to support OSS projects but need more information to do so effectively and decide on the type of support they can provide.

The CrOSSD platform also benefits software developers, as they use OSS libraries for professional purposes. For this, they need more information about the “health state” of OSS projects.

Methods and functional scope

Quantitative and qualitative metrics are developed in the project. The quantitative metrics rely on, for instance, meta-data about contributors, information about the most recent changes (i.e., commits), reported vulnerabilities (i.e., security metrics) and download rates (i.e., relevance metrics, which inform about the popularity of a project). Qualitative metrics include, to give a few examples, sustainability criteria, activity indicators, and security policies. 

To popularize it, the CrOSSD platform is promoted at various meet-ups and integrated into classroom settings. Relevant communities, development platforms, and corporate partners are being contacted and familiarized with the platform. Initial results have already been presented at scientific conferences (including The Web Conference 2023), and we will continue to do so.

Impact

Many current internet technologies have their roots in OSS projects. Therefore, having robust quality measures for OSS projects is crucial to ensuring high standards of software development. With CrOSSD, the OSS community receives a tool that performs quality checks, giving insights into a project’s modifications and its 'health status.' Both quantitative and qualitative metrics are used and made available on an open platform.

A strong open source ecosystem forms the backbone of diverse Internet use. The CrOSSD platform showcases this diversity and — besides the huge, already well-known and popular projects — also spotlights alternative, local (Austrian) OSS projects.

Further Information:

Website: https://crossd.tech/

Netidee: https://www.netidee.at/crossd

Github: https://github.com/FH-CrOSSD

Press release: https://science.apa.at/power-search/15750441504919008005