How Successful Open Source Projects Work, and How and Why to Introduce Students to the Open Source World

Open source software is becoming a key driver of the software industry, with key industry players continuing to invest more heavily in open source projects. One of the limiting factors in the continued expansion of open source development is the lack of software engineers with experience in open source methodologies. Open source projects provide unique opportunities for less experienced software engineers to gain experience solving real-world problems. In this workshop, we will explore the defining characteristics of successful open source projects, and we will discuss whether open source projects and methods should be introduced to the classroom, and if so, how.