Software Research and the Industry

This is a list of general interest talks I have at hand. All talks are available in English and in German. In addition, there are always the research talks.

• Open Source: What It Is, How It Works, Why It Is Sustainable
• What Closed Source Development Can Learn From Open Source
• The Single Vendor Commercial Open Source Business Model
• A New Software Developer Career

The speaker bio is here as a one-paragraph bio and here as a half-page bio.

1. Open Source: What It Is, How It Works, Why It Is Sustainable

Open source is not only a type of software, it is also a new approach to software development and marketing. This talk explains how open source software development works and how it is different from current plan-driven and agile methods of software development. The talk also demonstrates the economic motivation of open source software and thereby explains why open source is sustainable and poised to succeed prior approaches to software development and marketing.

Audience: General audience with interest in technology

Format: 30-90min (talk)

Video: Tag der Informatik 2010 (Uni Dortmund)

2. What Closed Source Development Can Learn From Open Source

Open source is not only a type of software, it is also an approach to software development that is different from traditional plan-driven and agile software development methods. Open source is frequently more effective, because it can focus on project success and community without the distractions that are so common in traditional software development organizations. This talk explains the principles of open source software development, surprising effects it causes, and how traditional software development firms can benefit from adopting some of open source’s best practices. A key part of the presentation will focus on firm-internal software forges, which organizations like HP, IBM, SAP, and Microsoft have been using to their advantage.

Audience: Project managers, process departments, quality assurance, software developers

Format: 30-90min (talk)

Video: Coming soon…

3. The Single-Vendor Commercial Open Source Business Model

Open source is changing how software is built and how money is made. In particular software startups have found that open source can be used as a disruptive business strategy to win new or existing markets. Commercial software vendors employing open source strategies need to understand new revenue models and follow a new intellectual rights practice. Most importantly, vendors need to learn new skills of open source community engagement and management. This talk explains the single-vendor commercial open source business model and how it is superior to traditional closed-source software business models. The talk explains business processes, business functions, best practices and how they form a coherent whole to win in the market place.

Note: The talk only touches on selected few best practices, the tutorial version provides a more comprehensive introduction.

Audience: Executives, business strategists, venture capitalists, product managers, software developers

Formats: 30-90min (talk), 3h (half-day tutorial), 6h (full-day tutorial)

Video: Coming soon…

4. A New Software Developer Career

Open source creates a new career path for software developers, orthogonal to the traditional career in software development organizations. Advancing on this career path can win developers broader recognition for their work, increase their salaries, and improve their job security. Software developers, project and hiring managers, and personnel departments alike need to understand this new dimension in a developer’s career. This talk explains the career and discusses what skills a developer should possess or train to be successful on this path.

Audience: Project managers, software developers, human resources

Format: 30-90min (talk)

Video: CeBIT 2010, LinuxTag 2010