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Release synchronization in software ecosystems

Empirical Study on OpenStack

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Abstract

Software ecosystems bring value by integrating software projects related to a given domain, such as Linux distributions integrating upstream open-source projects or the Android ecosystem for mobile Apps. Since each project within an ecosystem may potentially have its release cycle and roadmap, this creates an enormous burden for users who must expend the effort to identify and install compatible project releases from the ecosystem manually. Thus, many ecosystems, such as the Linux distributions, take it upon them to release a polished, well-integrated product to the end-user. However, the body of knowledge lacks empirical evidence about the coordination and synchronization efforts needed at the ecosystem level to ensure such federated releases. This paper empirically studies the strategies used to synchronize releases of ecosystem projects in the context of the OpenStack ecosystem, in which a central release team manages the six-month release cycle of the overall OpenStack ecosystem product. We use qualitative analysis on the release team’s IRC-meeting logs that comprise two OpenStack releases (one-year long). Thus, we identified, cataloged, and documented ten major release synchronization activities, which we further validated through interviews with eight active OpenStack senior practitioners (members of either the release team or project teams). Our results suggest that even though an ecosystem’s power lies in the interaction of inter-dependent projects, release synchronization remains a challenge for both the release team and the project teams. Moreover, we found evidence (and reasons) of multiple release strategies co-existing within a complex ecosystem.

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Notes

  1. shorturl.at/imFM1

  2. https://www.openstack.org

  3. the release naming convention at OpenStack follows an alphabetical order with each release’s first letter. For example, A ustin, B exar, C actus, …, and V ictoria (current ecosystem release)

  4. https://www.shorturl.at/sADJ7

  5. https://www.shorturl.at/moNQ6

  6. For example, Nova is a core project, while nova − powervm is a project (module), specifically, a sub-project of Nova with a separate development team.

  7. https://www.releaseteam/2015/releaseteam.2015-06-05-13.01.log.html

  8. https://www.releaseteam/2018/releaseteam.2018-03-16-15.01.log.html

  9. https://www.shorturl.at/jCEGI

  10. https://www.shorturl.at/kzEI7

  11. https://shorturl.at/eiGKY

  12. https://opendev.org/openstack/releases/src/branch/master/deliverables

  13. https://shorturl.at/ckmDH

  14. https://shorturl.at/jrFXZ

  15. https://shorturl.at/pvZ59

  16. https://releaseteam.2018--02--09--15.00.log.html

  17. https://shorturl.at/glrwx

  18. https://shorturl.at/jmpF2

  19. https://shorturl.at/lnGW5

  20. https://releaseteam.2016-04-01-14.01.log.html

  21. https://releaseteam.2017-10-20-15.00.log.html

  22. https://shorturl.at/ekBF9

  23. https://releaseteam.2017--02--10--15.00.log.html

  24. https://releaseteam.2015--11--27--14.34.log.html

  25. https://releaseteam.2016--01--08--14.00.log.html

  26. https://releaseteam.2016--03--25--14.00.log.html

  27. https://releaseteam.2015--12--18--14.21.log.html

  28. https://shorturl.at/cdgn7

  29. https://releaseteam.2015--06--05--13.01.log.html

  30. https://releaseteam.2016--01--08--14.00.log.html

  31. https://releaseteam.2017--11--17--15.00.log.html

  32. https://shorturl.at/czNRS

  33. https://shorturl.at/AFVY9

  34. https://releaseteam.2016--05--06--14.02.log.html

  35. https://shorturl.at/hsFP1

  36. https://shorturl.at/ctDG2

  37. https://shorturl.at/xGOQ1

  38. https://shorturl.at/gGJY8

  39. https://shorturl.at/iAGMN

  40. https://shorturl.at/elxW9

  41. https://shorturl.at/bistz

  42. https://shorturl.at/bxOZ9

  43. https://shorturl.at/etH78

  44. https://shorturl.at/cekG7

  45. https://shorturl.at/nvNQY

  46. https://shorturl.at/rwIJ9

  47. https://shorturl.at/ntP09

  48. https://shorturl.at/yOS19

  49. https://shorturl.at/dpGZ3

  50. https://shorturl.at/kqrzW

  51. https://shorturl.at/ceAQ8

  52. https://shorturl.at/eEM28

  53. https://shorturl.at/wEKL2

  54. A 2016 talk at the Microsoft research facility on “Sustaining Software Engineering Ecosystems”(https://shorturl.at/moMNP)

  55. https://shorturl.at/kBHX9

  56. https://shorturl.at/jFGQZ

  57. https://shorturl.at/jrvBL

  58. https://shorturl.at/giBKN

  59. https://shorturl.at/oGJX0

  60. https://shorturl.at/adzIJ

  61. readers can consult our replication package how the different TS components were model and plotted

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  1. Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada

    Armstrong Foundjem & Bram Adams

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  1. Armstrong Foundjem
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  2. Bram Adams
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Correspondence to Armstrong Foundjem.

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Communicated by: Andy Zaidman

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Foundjem, A., Adams, B. Release synchronization in software ecosystems. Empir Software Eng 26, 34 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-020-09929-1

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