@proceedings {1918, title = {Using Gamification to Orient and Motivate Students to Contribute to OSS Projects}, year = {2017}, month = {05/2017}, pages = {36-42}, abstract = {Students can benefit from contributing to Open Source Software (OSS), since they can enrich their portfolio and learn with real world projects. However, sometimes students are demotivated to contribute due to entrance barriers. On the other hand, gamification is widely used to engage and motivate people to accomplish tasks and improve their performance. The goal of this work is to analyze the use of gamification to orient and motivate undergraduate students to overcome onboarding barriers and engage to OSS projects. To achieve this goal, we implemented four gaming elements (Quests, Points, Ranking, and Levels) in GitLab and assessed the environment by means of a study conducted with 17 students within a real OSS project (JabRed). At the end of the study, the students evaluated their experience through a questionnaire. We found that the Quest element helped to guide participants and keep them motivated and points helped by providing feedback on students{\textquoteright} performed tasks. We conclude that the gamified environment oriented the students in an attempt to make a contribution and that gamification can motivate and orient newcomers{\textquoteright} to engage to OSS projects. }, keywords = {engagement, gamification, MOTIVATION, newcomers, students}, author = {Guilherme C. Diniz and Marco A. Graciotto Silva and Marco Gerosa and Steinmacher, Igor} } @booklet {1709, title = {Understanding and Supporting the Choice of an Appropriate Task to Start With In Open Source Software Communities }, howpublished = {Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 48}, year = {2015}, pages = {5299-5308}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {Open Source Software (OSS) projects leverage the contribution of outsiders. In fact, the sustainability of many projects relies on retaining some of these newcomers. Usually these communities do not coordinate the work of the newcomers, who go to the issue trackers and self-select a task to start with. We found that {\textquotedblleft}finding a way to start{\textquotedblright} was reported as an important issue by practitioners. To further investigate this specific barrier, we conducted a qualitative analysis with data obtained from semi-structured interviews with 36 subjects from 14 different projects, including newcomers and experienced members. We used procedures of Grounded Theory {\textendash} open and axial coding {\textendash} to analyze the data. We found that newcomers are not confident enough to choose their initial task and they need information about the tasks or direction from the community to support choosing a task more suitable for them. We also present a set of strategies identified in the literature, interviews, and state-of-the practice that can provide newcomers with such information, enabling them to be more confident when choosing their first tasks and collaborate with the community. }, keywords = {coordination, joining process, new developer, newcomers, onboarding, open source software, task selection}, attachments = {https://flosshub.org/sites/flosshub.org/files/HICSS-48_present.pdf}, author = {Steinmacher, Igor and Conte, Tayana and Gerosa, MarcoAur{\'e}lio} } @inbook {1610, title = {Barriers Faced by Newcomers to Open Source Projects: A Systematic Review}, booktitle = {Open Source Software: Mobile Open Source Technologies}, series = {IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology}, volume = {427}, year = {2014}, pages = {153-163}, publisher = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg}, organization = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg}, abstract = { To remain sustainable, some open source projects need a constant influx of new volunteers, or newcomers. However, the newcomers face different kinds of problems when onboarding to a project. In this paper we present the results of a systematic literature review aiming at identifying the barriers that a newcomer can face when contributing to an Open Source Software project. We identified and analyzed 21 studies that evidence this kind of problem. As a result we provide a hierarchical model that relies on five categories of barriers: finding a way to start, social interactions, code issues, documentation problems and newcomers{\textquoteright} knowledge. The most evidenced barriers are newcomers{\textquoteright} previous technical skills, receiving response from community, centrality of social contacts, and finding the appropriate way to start contributing. This classification provides a baseline for further researches related to newcomers onboarding. }, isbn = {978-3-642-55127-7}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-55128-4_21}, url = {http://flosscoach.com/publications/IST2015.pdf}, attachments = {https://flosshub.org/sites/flosshub.org/files/IST2015.pdf}, author = {Steinmacher, Igor and Silva, MarcoAur{\'e}lioGraciotto and Gerosa, MarcoAur{\'e}lio}, editor = {Corral, Luis and Sillitti, Alberto and Succi, Giancarlo and Vlasenko, Jelena and Wasserman, AnthonyI.} } @inbook {1618, title = {How to Support Newcomers Onboarding to Open Source Software Projects}, booktitle = {Open Source Software: Mobile Open Source Technologies}, series = {IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology}, volume = {427}, year = {2014}, pages = {199-201}, publisher = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg}, organization = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg}, abstract = { While onboarding an open source software (OSS) project, contributors face many different barriers that hinder their contribution, leading in many cases to dropout. Many projects leverage the contribution of outsiders and the sustainability of the project relies on retaining some of these newcomers. In this research, we aim at understanding the barriers that hinder onboarding of newcomers to OSS projects, by means of different empirical approaches, and proposing a set of strategies that can be used to support the first step of newcomers. }, isbn = {978-3-642-55127-7}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-55128-4_29}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-55128-4_29}, author = {Steinmacher, Igor and Gerosa, MarcoAur{\'e}lio}, editor = {Corral, Luis and Sillitti, Alberto and Succi, Giancarlo and Vlasenko, Jelena and Wasserman, AnthonyI.} }