Soft-lockins in Public Sector Acquisitions of Open Source Software-solutions: A Case Study on a Municipal E-Service Platform

TL;DR

This case study investigates soft lock-ins in open source software used by municipalities, highlighting user and technical factors that contribute to lock-in, and suggests leadership and stewardship as mitigation strategies.

Contribution

It identifies specific user-driven and technical factors causing soft lock-ins in OSS procurement for municipalities, emphasizing the role of open source stewards and leadership.

Findings

User-driven lock-in factors include communication and qualification issues.

Technical lock-in factors involve documentation and dependency problems.

Strong leadership and open source stewards can mitigate lock-ins.

Abstract

Background: Open Source Software (OSS) is often seen as an option to mitigate risks of lock-ins. Yet, single-vendor OSS can still result in soft lock-ins due to knowledge asymmetries and technical barriers. Aim: This study explores actors that render such soft lock-ins. Research design: We conduct a qualitative case study of an E-service Platform (ESP) used by over 190+ municipalities. Results: User-driven lock-in factors emerged as a significant category, including limited and non-transparent communication, restrictive qualification requirements in procurement, confusion on maintainership, and comfort in the status quo. Technical lock-in factors include inadequate documentation, dependency management issues, and limited test coverage. Conclusions: Strong leadership and continuous training is needed to address presence of comfort and conservative culture among municipalities. Open Source Stewards, i.e., neutral hosts for OSS projects, can support municipalities in these tasks while also helping to foster an open, competitive collaboration that can enable a broader supplier ecosystem.