The last 5 years have seen a rapid advancement in open source software development. The reason it works so well is that open source isn’t just about freely available code, it’s a different approach to developing software to can leverage a huge resource pool of available talent. In some cases, an open source product may be of higher quality than a commercially developed product.

Open Source Information Development
Open source content development is the other area that has exploded. Wikipedia is the best example of collaborative development of content where authors build upon the work of others to release a product that anyone can edit.

What about open source data? We’re starting to see it too. A great example is the OpenStreetMap project, where individuals are “mapping the world” by building a repository of geodata and point of interest overlay in a wiki. OpenStreetMap looks to form a credible competitor to the government geodata providers – with the costly ones in Europe providing a particularly attractive target. Some of the ideas about what it may achieve in the future are even more exciting.

Software Development vs. Information Development
When developing open source code or information there are many similarities. The biggest differences have to do with commit rights and release cycles. Whereas code is released in cycles, wikis tend to have content changing all the time. This provides maximum value in terms of encouraging contributions but results in instability.

The other issue is that of authorization to contribute. In a code model there are typically controls around commit rights and a test process to ensure the code developed matches the planned specification.

To get more open source Information Development, we think a hybrid model makes sense in some scenarios. This is what we’ve done with the open methodology framework in MIKE2.0 in an attempt to add stability and reliability. While there are certainly some downsides, we believe that in some cases it can provide the best model for development.

Where Else Might it Apply?
The best case for the approach seems to be related to the development of standards as a means for effective collaboration. I can imagine a few nightmare scenarios for open source information development related to personal privacy, but by looking at the geodata providers we may see other candidates - such as credit agencies - that will face competition through a variation of the open model.