Open-Source Software in the Sciences: The Challenge of User Support — Rhetoric & Composition

Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2019 OA PDF

Open-Source Software in the Sciences: The Challenge of User Support

Jason Swarts North Carolina State University

Abstract

This study examines user support issues concerning open-source software in computational sciences. The literature suggests that there are three main problem areas: transparency, learnability, and usability. Looking at questions asked in user communities for chemistry software projects, the author found that for software supported by feature-based documentation, problems of transparency and learnability are prominent, leading users to have difficulty reconciling disciplinary practices and values with software operations. For software supported by task-based documentation, usability problems were more prominent. The author considers the implications of this study for user support and the role that technical communication could play in developing and supporting open-source projects.

Journal: Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published: 2019-01-01
DOI: 10.1177/1050651918780202
Open Access: OA PDF Bronze
Topics: technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

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What Is a Workplace? Principles for Bounding Case Studies of Genres, Processes,…

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