OW2 introduces the « Market Readiness Levels », a method for evaluating the business potential of open source projects.
At Open Source Experience, the OW2 Community is proud to present MRL, a method already implemented within the OW2 code base et made available now to the entire open source community.
Paris, France, Novembre 8, 2021 – OW2, the community promoting open source software for information systems reveals its methodology MRL “Market Readiness Levels”. Evaluating open source projects is a permanent challenge that OW2 has chosen to meet by defining a unique composite indicator. The method is now applied to the projects from the OW2 code base.
This indicator facilitates the evaluation and adoption of open source projects from the point of view of corporate information systems managers, those who are not familiar with open source. For these new users, educated in the commercial practices of proprietary software vendors, open source remains a counter-intuitive model; its technical, legal and community specificities are a source of uncertainty that is not very favourable to positive decisions. Mainstream decision-makers must hear a language they understand. This is the role of the Market Readiness Levels (MRL) method developed by OW2 for evaluating open source projects. With MRL, decision-makers have a familiar indicator that positions open source projects according to the “business” decision criteria they are used to. Open source is moving towards them.
MRL is both a decision support tool for developers, architects and IT decision makers, and a self-assessment tool for project managers. MRL allows them to identify areas for improvement that will increase the potential for adoption of the project by the market. At a more general level, MRL aims to contribute to the professionalization and industrialization of the open source software sector. The method aims to make the projects more "consumable" by the market, and at the same time improves the level of user confidence. Details of the methodology, its three levels of analysis and the hundreds of criteria taken into account will be presented to Open Source Experience (OSXP) during a dedicated session. Five projects from the OW2 code base evaluated by the method will then speak (XWiki, LemonLDAP, BlueMind, Lutece, and OCS Inventory). This feedback and testimonials will illustrate the benefits of MRL for producers of open source technologies. MRL is obviously accessible in open source and freely applicable to other code bases.
Join the MRL presentation at Open Source Experience on November 10 at 10h30, room 243.
About OW2:
OW2 is an independent community dedicated to promoting open source software for information systems and to fostering their business ecosystems. OW2 federates 50+ organizations and 2500+ IT professionals world wide. OW2 hosts 50+ technology Projects, including: ADR App, ASM, AuthzForce, CLIF, DocDoku, FusionDirectory, GLPI, JORAM, Knowage, LemonLDAP:NG, Lutece, OCS Inventory, Petals ESB, Prelude, ProActive, Rocket.Chat, SAT4J, SeedStack, Sympa, Telosys, Waarp, WebLab and XWiki.. Visit www.ow2.org, follow us on Twitter @ow2.