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I. Hammouda et al. (Eds.): OSS 2012, IFIP AICT 378, pp. 368–370, 2012.
© IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2012
Two Modes of Product Development:
Head-Oriented vs. Release-Oriented
Masayuki Hatta
Surugadai University,
Faculty of Economics,
698, Azu, Hannou, Saitama, Japan
hatta.masayuki@surugadai.ac.jp
http://about.me/mhatta
Abstract. In this paper, the concept of two different modes for product devel-
opment process is proposed. One is “release-oriented” product development,
which is a fairly common way to develop various products up to now. The other
is “head-oriented” product development, which is recently observed especially
in the field of software/content development. The distinguishing difference and
possible merits and demerits of two modes are scrutinized.
1 Introduction
In the manufacturing industry, the product development is typically performed in
aiming at the market release of a product. That is, trial experimentations are repeated
inside the company, and a prototype is created when the concept and key features are
stabilized to some extent (or scheduled deadline is imminent). After the so-called
Quality Assurance work and some fine tuning are done, a final product is released to
the market. This is mostly the same in the software industry until recently (Brooks
1975, Krishnan 1994).
However, recently, a different mode of product development has emerged, espe-
cially in the area of Open Source software/contents development and the development
of on-line services such as SaaS (Software as a Service). In this mode, the target of
development (typically the source code or running service) is always open to the
public, and the insider developers and mere users share the same “forefront of
development”, or often called as “HEAD” in the developers’ circle (Fogel &
Bar 2003).
2 Release vs. Head
In this paper, the former, more conventional type of the product development process
will be called "Release-oriented". The release-oriented product development process
has an independent Quality Assurance (QA) process and a discrete release (Fig.1).
Two Modes of Product Development: Head-Oriented vs. Release-Oriented 369
Fig. 1. The Release-oriented mode of product development. The dotted arrow indicates non-
disclosed development. The solid circle means an officially released version of product.
By contrast, the latter one will be called “Head-oriented”. The head-oriented way
has no QA, no official releases, but the HEAD is open to the public (Fig.2).
Fig. 2. The Head-oriented mode of product development. The head never released officially
(except “snapshots”), thus indicated in the dotted circle.
The current development (writing/editing) process of Wikipedia is an excellent ex-
ample of Head-oriented mode of product development. There are no “official re-
leases”. Instead, what you can see is always the latest edition.
370 M. Hatta
3 The Key Elements Which Enabled the Head-Oriented Mode
The head-oriented mode enables the project to grow fast and mostly developer-
friendly, however it is highly probable that imperfect and unstable products will be
delivered to the users if the head-oriented mode has taken place. In order to realize the
head-oriented product development, some external conditions should be ready. In this
research, the author emphasizes the importance of technical progress in the realm of
development infrastructure, and especially, the attribution of users.
Finally, the author will investigate the recent confusion at the scene of the KDE
Desktop 4.0 release. Some Open Source projects have faced strong and sudden
criticism from users when they put the new release out. This can be explained by the
difference of orientation toward product development and releases, between core
developers and users.
References
1. Brooks, F.P.: The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering. Addison-Wesley,
New York (1975)
2. Krishnan, M.S.: Software release management: a business perspective. In: CASCON 1994:
Proceedings of the 1994 Conference of the Centre for Advanced Studies on Collaborative
Research, vol. 36 (1994)
3. Fogel, K., Bar, M.: Open Source Development with CVS, 3rd edn. Paraglyph Press, New
York (2003)
4. Von Hippel, E.: Democratizing Innovation. MIT Press, Boston (2005)