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The second chapter of the book “Open Source for the Enterprise” focuses on measuring the maturity of open source projects. The author emphasizes that evaluating open source software requires effort, as there are no experts or whitepapers readily available. The chapter aims to provide a comprehensive program to help IT departments avoid common mistakes when using open source software.

The chapter begins by discussing the traps that IT departments can fall into when evaluating open source software. These traps include underestimating the amount of work required, compatibility issues with existing systems, difficulties in extending the software, and lack of support from the open source development team. However, the author states that these problems can be avoided through careful research and due diligence.

Next, the chapter discusses the elements of open source maturity that can help determine the difficulty of using a particular software. These elements include leadership and culture, vitality of the community, quality of end-user support, extent and scope of documentation, quality of packaging, momentum, quality of code and design, quality of architecture, testing practices, integration with other products, support for standards, quality of project site, license type, potential for commercial conflicts, and corporate commitment.

The chapter emphasizes the importance of strong leadership in open source projects and the need for project leaders to actively participate in forums and mailing lists. The culture of the project is also crucial, as a positive and welcoming attitude fosters a healthy community. The chapter also discusses the importance of end-user support, comprehensive documentation, and quality packaging in facilitating the use of open source software.

The chapter highlights the significance of regular releases and momentum in indicating the maturity of a project. It also emphasizes the importance of code quality and design, as well as the architecture and testing practices of the software. Integration with other products, support for standards, and developer support are also considered important factors in determining the maturity of open source software.

Finally, the chapter introduces the Open Source Maturity model, which assesses the maturity of an open source product based on specific criteria. The model assigns scores of 1, 2, or 3 to different criteria, such as age, momentum, popularity, design quality, setup cost, usage cost, end-user support, modularity, collaboration with other products, standards compliance, and developer support. The scores help in evaluating and comparing different open source projects.

Overall, the chapter provides a comprehensive guide to evaluating the maturity of open source software. It emphasizes the importance of considering multiple factors, such as leadership, community support, documentation, and code quality, in order to make informed decisions about using open source software.

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