The Strength of Weak Ties in Open-Source Software Development Networks

Abstract: Ever wondered how the digital world around you comes to life? Much of it is built on open-source software (OSS) – code that’s freely available for anyone to use, modify, and share. But what drives the success of these projects? How do they attract contributors, spark innovation, and stay relevant in a fast-paced tech world?

This talk synthesizes findings from recent studies in my group that unveil the hidden networks behind the OSS ecosystem. Mining data from thousands of OSS projects and millions of interactions, and interpreting them through the lens of established sociological theories, we provide novel insights into the complex dynamics of OSS ecosystems, focusing on factors that influence contributor behavior, project success, and innovation. We’ll dive into fascinating questions like: Does who you know matter in the OSS world? How do new ideas spread through these hidden networks? And can we predict which projects will thrive and which might struggle?

Join me to discover the hidden networks that power the software behind our digital lives, to see why your casual GitHub connections might be more valuable than you think, and to learn how the most innovative OSS projects often walk a tightrope between popularity and sustainability.

Bio: Bogdan Vasilescu is the Raj Reddy Associate Professor in Software and Societal Systems within the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He leads STRUDEL, the Socio-Technical Research Using Data Excavation Lab. With a spatula in one hand, a keyboard in the other, and a pantry full of data mining and social network analysis techniques, Bogdan whips up delectable recipes for improving the sustainability of open-source software. His work focuses on the socio-technical aspects of online collaboration in open source to inform evidence-based interventions supporting developers and communities.

Prior to joining CMU, Bogdan was a postdoc in the Davis Eclectic Computational Analytics Lab (DECAL) at UC Davis, where he worked with Vladimir Filkov and Prem Devanbu. He has a PhD in Computer Science cum laude from Eindhoven University of Technology, where he learned how to make delicious strudels with empirical research methods under the supervision of Alexander Serebrenik and Mark van den Brand. While at CMU, he has received several awards for his research, including the Ric Holt Early Career Achievement Award and multiple ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Awards.