OSS Watch Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes, 20 February 2007

by Sebastian Rahtz on 20 February 2007

Introduction

Present: Tony Linde (chair), Randy Metcalfe (OSS Watch manager), Sebastian Rahtz (OSS Watch director), Ross Gardler (OSS Watch), Chris Cartledge, Phill Camp, Matthijs den Besten (pp Paul David), Andrew Charlesworth, Brian Kelly. Andrew Savory arrived at 11.56am

Apologies from Ann Borda, Mike Banahan, John Norman, Mike Fraser, Sally-Anne Saull, Scott Wilson, Stephen Tanner.

Welcome

TL opened the meeting at 11am, and welcomed committee members, who introduced themselves.

Minutes from 3 October 2006

The minutes were agreed to be an accurate record. TL thanked OSS Watch for the circulation of monthly reports, which he said were proving useful. He requested that the reports show future meetings, as well as past; and that URLs of resources be included.

Actions arising

Bill Olivier was to investigate the Ithaka report, to see what JISC was doing which was comparable. BO not present, so action postponed.

Manager’s report

RM described the progress of OSS Watch since the last 6 months; most of the issues had been described in monthly interim reports.

Staffing currently stands as follows:

There was discussion about the project which Ramón is primarily working on, looking at OSS deployment across institutions, speculating about the extent to which useful results will be obtained. His initial target, however, is to create a catalogue of JISC open source outputs. OSS Watch’s progress on this topic should be of great interest.

The following content items have been produced:

• Open source software for the keen photographer, 13 February 2007
• Project Catalogues and Project Descriptors using DOAP, 6 February 2007
• Book review: Programming PHP, 9 January 2007
• OSS Watch FAQ added, 19 December 2006
• OSS Impact International Workshop, Brussels, 28 November 2006 - report, 19 December 2006
• The life of an OSS Watch document, 12 December 2006
• Open source for the enterprise: managing risks reaping rewards - review, 21 November 2006
• Book review: Applied Software Project Management, 31 October 2006
• IPR Protection of Software Workshop, Helsinki, 21-22 September 2006 - report, 17 October 2006
• Open Source Maturity Model, 16 October 2006
• Bodington released under Apache License v2.0, 10 October 2006

Presentations during the reporting period included:

• Single Source Publishing with Apache Forrest, 9 February 2007 - presentation
• Selecting a Linux distro, 1 and 6 February 2007 - presentation
• OpenOffice Writer level 2: Creating professional documents, 20 November 2006 - presentation
• Public sector online, 26 October 2006 - workshop presentation
• Bazaar Seminar Barcelona, 25 October 2006 - workshop presentation

JISC project support has consisted mostly in participation in workshops:

• JISC e-Framework workshop, 12 February 2007
• JISC e-Learning framework toolkits and demonstrators, 22 January 2007
• JISC repositories and preservation programme consultation meeting, 6 November 2006
• JISC capital programme town meeting, 11 October 2006
• Meeting with OMII-UK, 10 October 2006 Not included in the above are the individual project consultations that occurred during this reporting period. OSS Watch expects these projects consultations to increase over the next reporting period.

The Liaison and collaboration consists of attendance at meetings organised by other bodies, or participation in workshops:

• National Open Centre Advisory Board, 6 February 2007
• Google open source jam, London, 18 January 2007
• Invitation to speak at Open Educational Resources conference in Salzburg in April (accepted), 12 January 2007
• Joint OSS Watch, UKOLN, CETIS submission made to ELPub2007 conference, 10 January 2007
• SQA-OSS EU-project meeting and public workshop (April), 10 January 2007
• Software Freedom International board meeting (February), 8 January 2007
• Joint project to investigate openness with Pia Waugh of ASK-OSS (March), agreed, 18 December 2006
• Shock of the Old, invitation to give final presentation (22 March) - accepted, 11 December 2006
• OSS Impact international workshop, Brussels, 28 November 2006
• Invitation to speak at AoC/NILTA annual conference (March), 13 November 2006
• Creative Commons focus group, London, 16 November 2006
• JISC IPR Consultancy, consultation on new workpackages, 13 November 2006
• eIFL OSS Kick-off meeting, Italy, 28-31 October 2006
• Licensing and policy framework summit, Indianapolis, USA, 18-20 October 2006
• Software Entrepeneurs workshop, 19 October 2006
• ePrints development to service case study collation, 15 October 2006
• Link with Dutch patent attorney, 14 October 2006
• Collaborative brainstorming with IntelligentContent, ongoing, 12 October 2006
• RSC Scotland North and West, information exchange, 9 October 2006
• Microsoft survey participation on behalf of OUCS, 5 October 2006
• Review of report from JISC core middleware programme, 5 October 2006 There was discussion of the new National Open Centre and where it would lead. It was too early to tell. RM also went into some detail on the October 2006 licensing summit he had attended.

Technology transfer support is the activity concentrating on working with institutional tech transfer units, working on understanding open source business models.

• AURIL full-day workshop scheduled for 4 April 2007
• Teleconference planning meeting for AURIL workshop, 15 December 2006
• Meeting with XenSource, Cambridge, 17 November 2006
• Meeting with Linda Baines, 25 October 2006
• Meeting with Christine Reid, 24 October 2006 AURIL is the Association for University Research and Industry Links

AC asked about Christine Reid’s work the Lambert Agreements; details at http://www.innovation.gov.uk/lambertagreements/

The web site has been well maintained, with strict quality and standards controls. Interesting developments have included:

• Trial planet OSS Watch set up, 16 January 2007
• New OSS Watch team blog (http://involve.jisc.ac.uk/wpmu/oss-watch/) added to OSS Watch homepage, 9 January 2007
• Decision to drop breadcrumb trail, 11 December 2006
• Decision to trial JISC blog facilities for OSS Watch team blog, 11 December 2006
• Initial tagset for use by OXITEMS taxonomy newsfeed, 28 November 2006
• ‘Last reviewed’ added to OSS Watch documents, 24 November 2006
• Discussion of moving to comprehensive use of OXITEMS for OSS Watch content as a temporary step towards moving to a practical content management system, 13 November 2006
• ossw-website internal mailing list set up, 1 November 2006
• Initial work on instigating meta-tags in OSS Watch documents 31 October 2006
• Review of the website undertaken by Ramón Casero, 30 October 2006
• Establishing of OSS Watch collaboration suites in WebLearn (Oxford VLE), 15 October 2006 An OSS Watch team blog has been set up as part of the a central JISC Communications effort.

TL asked about taking part in Google Summer of Code (GSOC); RG said he had worked as mentor for Apache on GSoC projects and administrator of Apache’s participation in GSOC prior to joining OSS Watch , and could give some advice.

There was discussion of the trial OSS Watch planet (http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/planet/), and it was stressed that if it was not simply an OSS Watch aggregator it needed clearer disclaimers (AC suggested Planet KDE has a good example; see http://planetkde.org/) and branding; it was not yet clear what its focus should be. More feeds were needed, but there was not an immediate consensus as to which ones were appropriate.

Notable Management activities were given as:

• Communications brainstorming meeting with JISC programme manager and JISC Comms, 9 February 2007
• oss-watch team mailing list set up, 16 January 2007
• Internal team blogger.com blog de-commissioned, 15 January 2007
• Ross Gardler begins at OSS Watch (full-time), 8 January 2007
• JISC Comms and Marketing group meeting, London, 7 December 2006
• osswatch-tasks RT queue created, 5 December 2006
• Scenario Planning workshop, Users and Innovation programme, London, 29 November 2006
• Internal team blog created on blogger.com, 11 November 2006
• HE Academy / JISC meeting, Nottingham, 2-3 November 2006
• Ramón Casero Cañas begins at OSS Watch (half-time), 16 October 2006

Project Support

Ross Gardler presented his initial approach to JISC project support. He outlined his past work on open source (he is an established member of the Apache Software Foundation, and is their main administrator for GSoC work), and then presented his first view of 23 JISC-funded projects he had selected to analyze. Only one of these could really be classified as open development from an outsider’s perspective, although a reasonable understanding of open source licensing is visible, and the projects tend to regard themselves as open source.

The effect is that most JISC projects are unlikely to attract interest from people outside their project. RG would now start to look at how he could help projects move towards more openness.

There was discussion over the extent to which the JISC projects can spend time on community building; and whether the community is one of developers or of users — although increasingly these are fairly arbitary points on a general spectrum. PC noted that there are many points to tick on a JISC SLA — is there enough credit given there to community building? CC questioned whether the workpackage-and-deliverable structure is suited to bringing in outside volunteers. There is a tension between the need to finish the specified work, and to make the scope broad enough to be sustainable.

RG suggested that JISC projects would benefit from more guidance on

• licensing
• software tools for community building
• quality assurance (including involving the user)
• distributing results that is to say, guidance on open development. OSS Watch would certainly continue to work on #1, and the others as possible.

What about education? How do programmers learn to develop open sustainable software? Should OSS Watch run a summer school on code development? RG described how Google Summer of Code works, as an example of how student internships in OSS can be very helpful; a concentrated version of the apprenticeship system recognized in open source studies. BK suggested that JISC fund prizes for small innovative ideas or projects would be an interested way to proceed. There was a feeling that JISC is sometimes too heavyweight in its approach, and that a lighter/smaller touch can be effective. Paying developers to work on established projects may also be a good way to proceed. RM noted that Oxford University Computing Services’ annual report listing OSS involvement by staff (http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/internal/annrep/annrep0506/index.xml?ID=service#index.xml-div-id2418820) is a good example of how recording the current involvement of staff can assist in culture change in this area. The amount of change needed is large, however!

What can OSS Watch do next in this area? How does it reach the developers? It has to keep educating the community, and will start work on a project registry, using DOAP (an XML/RDF vocabulary to describe open source projects — http://usefulinc.com/doap/).

RM circulated a summary of the JISC-funded Sustainability Study, an in-depth look at a set of important OSS projects and the lessons which can be learnt from their history. This study was managed by OSS Watch, which will start publishing the material after the material has been approved by JISC.

QA: document review

Committee members were invited to perform a live detailed review of a selected OSS Watch document. This resulted in a set of annotated printouts which will be used to improve the documents. It was felt to be a useful exercise for the committee members to get engaged with OSS Watch material. Next time, it was requested that documents be circulated in advance, and the meeting used to discuss feedback.

Tech Transfer

Committee members had been asked to look at tech transfer in their institutions. Not everyone had remembered their homework (gasp), but a useful round-table discuss took place. RG noted that the explict recognition of OUCS’ encouragement of open source on its web pages had been a positive recruitment factor him. RM and SR explained that they had worked carefully within Oxford to get this policy straightened out for staff.

RM described the relatively new specification community investment as a measuring point for universities’ performance. This should make engagement in OSS more attractive for institutions, as it has positive benefits in the required reporting rather than simply being perceived as a loss. OSS Watch will be producing briefing material on this subject.

MD noted that more contact with research councils and the DTI would be useful; RM agreed, saying that a UKRC-wide OSS policy would be a desirable outcome, and had been discussed. BK pointed at PPARC’s policy at http://www.pparc.ac.uk/rs/rgh/rghDisplay2.aspx?m=s&s=6; what effect this had had is unknown.

ACTION. TL requested a progress report on these OSS Watch tech transfer activities at the next AC meeting; RM and SR readily agreed; TL suggested that Rowan Wilson be invited to the meeting to address the topic.

Forward planning

RM gave a list of OSS Watch engagements for the coming months; various conferences and workshops were in train, and the concentrated worksession with Pia Waugh in March.

ACTION. BK agreed to talk at the next AC about community engagement work undertaken in the JISC User and Innovation Programme.

AOB

CC asked about whether it was a good moment for OSS Watch to push information about Open Document Format. SR said that TechWatch are commissioning a report on this, and that he would be one of the reviewers.

CC expressed an interest in work on Linux on the desktop, and some discussion ensued about OpenOffice compatibility.

Date of next meeting

It was agreed to hold the next meeting in Oxford on September 17th.

The meeting was closed at 3.27pm.