Smitha Keertipati
ABSTRACT
The process by which norms are developed to become policies, the normative decision-making process, is not often explicit to stakeholders of Open Source Software (OSS) projects. Understanding the normative decision-making process is crucial for members if such projects are to evolve and succeed. In this paper, we investigated aspects of the normative decision-making processes of OSS development through the use of Python Enhancement Proposals (PEPs). We compared extracted process models with those that are advertised by the Python community to evaluate the extent to which those processes overlap. In addition, we assess members' involvement and contribution to these processes. Our work used structural and behavioral analysis techniques, and social network analysis metrics. We found that there were differences between the extracted processes and Python's advertised process, with the extracted processes being significantly more complex. These differences also extended to granular models used for managing social and technical aspects of the Python project. Furthermore, some key members were largely responsible for PEPs' success. Our extracted models could go a far way in helping the Python community to quickly understand decision-making processes in Python.
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Index Terms
- Exploring decision-making processes in Python
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