[AISWorld] IEEE Software: Special Issue on Managing Software Platforms and Ecosystems

[Slinger Roijackers (Jansen)]

*Managing Software Platforms and Ecosystems: Call for Papers*

*Submission deadline*: 1 Dec. 2017

*Publication*: July/Aug. 2018

A software ecosystem is a set of actors functioning as a unit and
interacting with a shared market for software and services, together with
the relationships among them. Software ecosystems are pervasive, and
software-producing organizations are increasingly realizing that their
ecosystem is what makes them and their technologies successful. Decisions
to join an ecosystem are made on a strategic level but also typically on an
operational level by senior software engineers. These engineers have been
coined “kingmakers” because their decisions might lead to long-lasting
relationships with the technical platforms they choose to produce
technology for.

Two challenges exist for open, closed, and hybrid licensed
software-producing organizations. First, organizations have the challenge
of creating innovative, useful, and open extendible platforms. Second, a
lack of knowledge exists among practitioners and academics on how to start,
incubate, grow, and manage ecosystems.

This theme issue calls for contributions that study platforms and
ecosystems in the large or take the vantage point of a software-producing
organization (open and closed source) and its position in its surrounding
ecosystem. Articles on ecosystems in the large can be topical studies of
value chains and networks of software-producing organizations and the
underlying platforms. For articles taking the vantage point of a
software-producing organization, we particularly solicit contributions that
address the challenges managers face in improving and strengthening their
positions in ecosystems—for instance, by defining open source contribution
strategies, creating partnering models, or starting a developer ecosystem.
We’re also highly interested in more technically oriented contributions:
topics such as novel ecosystem architectures, app analytics, API
deprecation and platform evolution, and cloud development environments and
their role in ecosystems.

One kind of software ecosystem deserves special attention: developer
ecosystems. The coordination of such ecosystems is challenging because
managers must ensure that they’re welcoming, useful, productive, and
beneficial for their members, generally without immediate results for the
supporting organization’s bottom line.

Managing software ecosystems is a challenge for software-producing
organizations in four ways. First, the platform the developer ecosystem
focuses on must be extensible, flexible, robust, and evolvable and must
provide facilities for rapidly developing new solutions. Second, the
ecosystem must be managed by organizing events, coordinating feedback,
helping developers help each other, and so on. Third, the
software-producing organization must be ready to accommodate developers by
readily providing easy access to the platform as well as support,
knowledge, and advice. Finally, the organization must keep track of other
ecosystems and open source’s role in the platform and must invest in
supporting platforms and ecosystems.

In this theme issue, we especially invite software ecosystem researchers
and practitioners to put forward their innovations, strategies, and
technologies for managing such ecosystems. Furthermore, we invite
contributions that address unorganized ecosystems (in which no particular
leader or keystone can be identified) that actually show longevity and the
propensity for growth.

In particular, we request contributions in these domains:

platform development,
growth and management of developer communities,
organization and governance for developer ecosystems,
ecosystem competition, and
ecosystems in the large.

*Guest Editors*

Slinger Jansen, Utrecht University, slinger.jansen at uu.nl
Karl Popp, SAP SE, karl.michael.popp at sap.com
Michael Cusumano, MIT, cusumano at mit.edu

*Submission Guidelines*

Manuscripts must not exceed 3,000 words including figures and tables, which
count for 250 words each. Submissions exceeding these limits might be
rejected without refereeing. Articles deemed within the theme and scope
will be peer reviewed and are subject to editing for magazine style,
clarity, organization, and space. We reserve the right to edit the title of
all submissions. Be sure to include the name of the theme issue for which
you’re submitting.

Articles should have a practical orientation and be written in a style
accessible to practitioners. Overly complex, purely research-oriented or
theoretical treatments aren’t appropriate. Articles should be novel. IEEE
Software doesn’t republish material published previously in other venues,
including other periodicals and formal conference or workshop proceedings,
whether previous publication was in print or electronic form.

For general author guidelines: www.computer.org/software/author.htm

For submission details: software at computer.org

To submit an article: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/sw-cs
-- 
Slinger Jansen - +31619884880 <+31%206%2019884880> - www.slingerjansen.nl -
Utrecht University - http://slingerroijackers.youcanbook.me
-- 
Slinger Jansen - +31619884880 - www.slingerjansen.nl - Utrecht University -
http://slingerroijackers.youcanbook.me