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This article is the executive summary of "Free/Libre/Open Source Software Japanese Developers Online Survey" conducted by Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. from September to November, 2003. The full version of this report is available at the website of Mitsubishi Research Institute.
The authors conducted an online survey entitled "Free/Libre/Open Source Software Japanese Developers Online Survey (FLOSS-JP)." The objective of the survey was to determine the situation regarding open source software/free software (OSS/FS) engineers in Japan by gathering information directly from open source/free software developers themselves. The results will be used in personnel training in relevant technical fields, in planning policy for technology promotion and other areas.
This survey represents the Japan version of the FLOSS survey (Free/Libre and Open Source Software: Survey and Study) conducted in Europe in 2002 and the FLOSS-US survey (The Free/Libre/Open Source Software Survey for 2003) conducted in the United States during the first half of 2003. As these surveys were implemented in English, there was little participation by developers in Japan.
During a two-month period from September 1, 2003 through November 1, 2003, an online survey system was put up on the Mitsubishi Research Institute website (http://oss.mri.co.jp/floss-jp/). Survey forms were also distributed at open source related events. There were 55 questions in the survey, all of them multiple-choice. To enable global comparison with results obtained elsewhere, most of the questions were taken directly from the European FLOSS survey and the FLOSS-US survey. For this reason, the authors worked together with the leader of the FLOSS survey, Rishab Aiyer Ghosh, in developing the questions. No particular restrictions were placed on who should respond to the survey, as long as the respondents considered themselves to be open source or free software developers who applied through several specific communities. During the two-month survey period, 547 responses were received in all (487 online and 60 from people who filled out the form at special events).
Analysing the received responses from OSS/FS developers, the authors could summarize the findings to give an overall picture of OSS/FS developers in Japan as follows.
Almost all developers (98%) are male, with the active age range being primarily mid-20s to mid-30s. The average developer is currently 31.2 years old and started developing at the age of 26.6, and has therefore been involved in OSS/FS development for 4.6 years. That makes Japanese developers three to four years older than those in the West, and their career is 1.5 years shorter. More than half (52.6%) of all developers began their development work in 2000 or later, but 10% started around 1990. This indicate that OSS/FS development in Japan is has quite a long history. Most developers are highly educated; about one in three has completed graduate school. However, 22.5% have only a junior high school or high school education, indicating that anyone can become involved in OSS/FS development given the will to do so. In terms of occupation, half of all developers are in software-related occupations. Fewer (14.5%) are students as compared to Europe (20.9%) and the United States (28.8%), and whereas in the West 3/4 of student developers are on courses related to information technology, these account for less than half of the total in Japan. In terms of current residence, developers are concentrated in the Tokyo area (southern Kanto) (51.6%).
In terms of their opinion regarding to free software and open source software, two-thirds of all respondents make a clear distinction between free software and open source software, and open source software is the more popular. In the European survey, free software was the more popular, while in the American survey the percentages were about equal, so each survey obtained different results on this question. With regard to licensing systems, most developers preferred the General Public License (GPL).
Looking at the time actually spent on OSS/FS activities, many developers treated their work like a hobby, spending five hours or less per week on it. Only a minority spent long periods of time on development. The most common development platform was Linux, but 30% developed under Windows - a clear difference with surveys in the West, in which only a few percent did so. Developers had on average only been involved in a few projects and had only led a few; however, just under half of the respondents claimed project leadership experience, so it was concluded that many had initiated projects themselves. For this reason, developers are not in close contact with many other members of the community, and so even though their source code are open, it is thought that their activities did not up to "bazaar-like" development.
Since most Japanese are unable to express themselves well in English, it was thought that they would be limited to participation in the domestic community, but in actuality nearly 40% of developers were involved with the global developer community. Many were involved with other developers outside Japan despite a lack of English composition ability, so overseas involvement appears possible given sufficient effort on the part of the developer.
Most developers said they were involved in OSS/FS development in order to improve their knowledge and skills, and in this they appear to be reaping the benefits desired. Though "skills" might be taken to mean programming skills, it was clear that many developers also contribute in areas other than programming, such as the preparation of documentation, support provision, and the like. About half listed software and patch releases as the beginning of their involvement in OSS/FS development, while approximately another half listed email contact with other software creators, bug reporting, document translation, and other activities as their initiation. An overwhelming majority of developers gained their expertise through self-study (62.5%), with 8.6% listing the developer community and 14.1% listing work experience as the source of their knowledge. Combining these three figures, it is revealed that 85% of developers have received no formal OSS/FS education such as seminars and university classes. Further, few have qualifications as OSS/FS developers.
Concern for signatures is low on the part of younger developers (students) and programmers, and education regarding copyright matters appears to be inadequate.
Few developers receive monetary assistance relating to OSS/FS development work (26.8%), fewer than in Europe (53.7%) and the United States (43.2%), but the number is gradually increasing. In addition, more developers are able to use their skills to gain employment or change jobs. However, the current situation is that there is a wide gap in recognition between developers and companies.
Based on the results of the survey, the authors finish this report by making the following recommendations for the encouragement of OSS/FS development in Japan. To promote the participation of students in OSS/FS development, we should begin OSS/FS education at the earliest possible opportunity. For developers who want to improve their skills through OSS/FS development, better seminars and texts are needed, and for this purpose, it is essential to establish standards for OSS/FS skills that provide a formalized structure for learning. If the general public had a greater awareness of the contribution made by OSS/FS, OSS/FS developers would undoubtedly find their situation improving. For this reason, developer communities and national and local governments should work to increase awareness of OSS/FS development among the general public. The administration should aware that promoting OSS/FS development will help drive the IT industry in Japan and increase the competitiveness of Japanese industry. And it should enforce various useful support for OSS/FS developers.
It is the hope of the authors that the findings of this survey will help promote OSS/FS development and improve the circumstances of OSS/FS developers.
This survey would not have been possible without the cooperation of OSS/FS developers. The authors would like to offer their thanks to those who submitted responses and helped to publicize the survey. Thanks also to VA Linux Systems Japan, Japan Linux Association and the Kansai Open Source + Freeware 2003 Executive Committee. Finally, the authors would also like to thank Rishab Aiyer Ghosh, leader of the FLOSS survey, for kindly consenting to the use of the questions from that survey. This survey was conducted as part of the "Survey of human resource development in open source software engineering" that is currently being conducted by Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. on behalf of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
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