Fatores que influenciam desenvolvedores a participar de ecossistemas de software movel

Abstract

Mobile Software Ecosystems (MSECO) are a special kind of ecosystems that involves a technological platform, business rules and a set of users and developers collaborating together, with the focus in develop some software solutions. In that kind of ecosystem, it is crucial to maintain its sustainability, it means, surviving along the time, adapting to new technologies and attracting or keeping their members engaged in this process. This research emerges from the gaps identified in literatura on the participation of developers in this ecosystems. The goal of this research is to identify which factors influences the developers to adopt one MSECO and which factors keep these developers participating in these MSECO. To reach this goal, we conducted three studies: i) a Systematic Literature Mapping on the state-of-art of MSECO; We identified 45 factors of developers motivation; ii) a study with experts that aimed to refine the factors we had identified in the first study and their descriptions, resulting in 29 factors; and iii) an Interview-based Field Study with mobile developers that identified the impact of these factors over the motivation of this professionals, in particular with this kind of ecosystems. One of our findings is that a developer, at beginning of their participation, takes care of a lesser set of factors than after some time participating with a MSECO. The results of this study contribute to the consolidation of the literature about the motivation in MSECO, and the characterization of how these motivation factors are relevant in practice. This knowledge can be used, for example, for researchers to go in-depth in the causes of influence of these factors, or by tool developers, who could available new resources to facilitate the participation of these developers with the ecosystem, supporting with the MSECO sustainability.