Open source thinking

As an idea, open source thinking may at first seem remote and distant from the world of market research. As a concept, it originally comes from Silicon Valley where it was seen as a new approach to computer programming. In contrast to a program where the designers and engineers secretly guard its source code – the recipe of an open source program is open to everyone to add to, revise or edit. The DNA is open to revision.

The rationale behind this approach is that by giving up an element of control, programmers get improved results. Taking its lead from the need to hunt out problems and bugs in programs, the open source mantra is that the greater the number of people who look at something; the more likely you are to spot issues early on: “given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”. Open source programmers believe that giving up control is not an issue; rather that openness leads to more creativity and innovation.

In a landmark book on the open source movement, IT thinker Eric Raymond (1999) likens the difference between open source and its binary counterpart closed source development to that between a cathedral and a bazaar. The construction of a cathedral depends on a master architect marshalling proceedings, but a bazaar or market runs off the back of a myriad of dealings, exchanges and conversations. In the world of computing, Windows is the classic 'closed source' program – only Microsoft knows how it’s put together, and only it has the ability to alter the code.

In contrast, Linux – Microsoft's principal rival – is based on an open source model. From its original design by Linus Torvald, the source code of Linux has been open to change, revision and adaptation by anyone. In effect, Torvald and Linux have co-opted the creativity of the many rather than relying on an elite few – a strategy that has enabled Linux to become Microsoft's main challenger.

The real power of open source thinking is that the concept can be applied across many spheres of activity, aside from the narrow confines of software programming. In essence, open source is about everyone having the potential and right to create, and to be recognised for that creativity. From an organisation's view, it is about giving up an element of control in order to achieve better results than the organisation could achieve on its own. Successful open source initiatives are based on 'communities of co- creation' (Cottam and Leadbetter, 2004) that blend the expertise of a sponsoring organisation with that of engaged amateurs.
 

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