Nichols, David M.Twidale, Michael B.2009-03-052009-03-052006Nichols, D. M. & Twidale, M.(2006). The usability of open source software: analysis and prospects. In Ravi Kumar Jain B (Eds), Open Source Software in Business: Issues and Perspectives.(pp. 167-188). Hyderabad, India: The ICFAI University Press.https://hdl.handle.net/10289/2052Open source communities have successfully developed many pieces of software although most computer users only use proprietary applications. The usability of open source software is often regarded as one reason for this limited distribution. In this paper we review the existing evidence of the usability of open source software and discuss how the characteristics of open-source development influence usability. We describe how existing human-computer interaction techniques can be used to leverage distributed networked communities, of developers and users, to address issues of usability.application/pdfenThis is an author’s version of an article published in the book: Open Source Software in Business: Issues and Perspectives. Used with Permission.computer scienceopen sourcehuman-computer interactionChapter in Book