Is being an OSS chameleon an advantage or disadvantage?

One of the interesting parts of starting a new OSS project or new customer is figuring out their mode of operation. For example, some architects want high-level requirements to design their own solution against. Others want you to document the requirements so tightly that you’re effectively designing the solution for them (eg field mappings, data structures, interface designs, etc).

I’m comfortable operating in either mode (and have done so), although being a designer / engineer at heart, I can sometimes err on the side of getting into solution mode. In general, I figure there’s little point in trying to change those with a fear of change and am happy to go into whichever mode it takes to get progress. I find this especially true in the large, bureaucratic organisations where OSS are often implemented.

Many others disagree with this approach and prefer to enforce their own mode of working onto their new colleagues. I’ve only ever found that this leads to delays – direct and indirect.

What do you think?

If this article was helpful, subscribe to the Passionate About OSS Blog to get each new post sent directly to your inbox. 100% free of charge and free of spam.

Our Solutions

Share:

Most Recent Articles

No telco wants to buy an OSS/BSS

When you’re a senior exec in a telco and you’ve been made responsible for allocating resources, it’s unlikely that you ever think, “gee, we really

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.