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Phil Diegmann
Research

MIS Quarterly 48(1), 67–94 · 2024

The Entrainment of Task Allocation and Release Cycles in Open Source Software Development

Lindberg, A., Schecter, A., Berente, N., Hennel, P., Lyytinen, K.

Paper

Task allocation and release rhythms in open-source projects become entrained over time. The coupling can be measured and re-tested once algorithmic contributors join.

My role: designed, built and ran the digital trace data pipeline (collection, reconciliation, event sequences); contributed to interpreting the findings on developer behaviour and to the manuscript.

Study

Relational event modelling of eight open-source projects (1,169,489 actions across 93 major releases) shows how task allocation and release cycles become entrained. The study identifies three task-allocation mechanisms: developer–issue inertia, developer contribution frequency and issue popularity.

Before a major release, projects mobilise and spread work more broadly. After a release, a longer clean-up phase concentrates work among developers who were very active recently.

Why it matters in practice

Release rhythm is not only a planning decision. It emerges from the coordination routines of the contributors. Measuring it can show when a release cycle drifts.

Next question

The same coupling can be re-tested once non-human contributors, such as dependency bots, CI agents and AI code reviewers, enter the population. This is the basis of a planned research stream on algorithmic agents in open-source ecosystems.