In search of the sweet spot: agile open collaborative corporate software development

Corporate software developers are faced with many difficulties. Development windows are decreasing; scale and complexity are increasing; business requirements are vague and changing; and the underlying technology moves ever on. Agile methods have emerged as leading contenders to tame these challenges. Small teams, face-to-face communication, an emphasis on simplicity and a selection of development best practices contribute to software development which is relevant, yet fast and flexible. At the same time, Open Source Software is increasingly providing infrastructure, tools and components to companies. Progressive development teams are beginning to work in more open, collaborative, and distributed ways. In some respects these practices are similar to agile practices, but in important ways, very different. Yet, both are important and offer unique benefits. This paper discusses the prospects of combining the two in the context of corporate software development, and the approach we suggest to do this.