Evolving Software Ecosystems: The Role of Community Dynamics in Shaping Software Extensions

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dc.contributor.advisorNayebi, Maleknaz
dc.contributor.authorOnagh, Elmira
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-23T15:24:53Z
dc.date.available2025-07-23T15:24:53Z
dc.date.copyright2025-06-03
dc.date.issued2025-07-23
dc.date.updated2025-07-23T15:24:53Z
dc.degree.disciplineComputer Science
dc.degree.levelMaster's
dc.degree.nameMSc - Master of Science
dc.description.abstractAs software ecosystems (SECOs) grow across domains, understanding how tools evolve and differentiate functionally is critical for innovation. This manuscript-based thesis explores the evolution of the software ecosystem and its influence on developers’ motivations to extend their software products in two ecosystems. In the first part, we focus on the evolution of open-source software by analyzing 6,983 GitHub Actions on GitHub Marketplace, revealing a widespread functional redundancy. A graph-based analysis of version histories and release patterns identifies early contributors and offers strategies to reduce duplication and align tools with emerging trends. In the second part, in collaboration with industry partners, we examined proprietary software products, focusing on functional maturity, in particular AI-related features in 116 patient-centric healthcare applications. We find that 86.21% of apps remain in early AI adoption stages, indicating limited advancement toward AI integration. Together, these studies introduce a generalizable, data-driven framework for analyzing functional evolution across domains.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10315/43077
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectComputer science
dc.subjectEngineering
dc.subject.keywordsSECO
dc.subject.keywordsSoftware ecosystem
dc.subject.keywordsRelease planning
dc.subject.keywordsRequirement engineering
dc.subject.keywordsGitHub Actions
dc.subject.keywordsOpen Source Software (OSS)
dc.subject.keywordsContinuous Integration (CI)
dc.subject.keywordsContinuous Deployment (CD)
dc.subject.keywordsSoftware evolution
dc.subject.keywordse-Health systems
dc.subject.keywordsHealthcare AI
dc.subject.keywordsHealth foundational models
dc.subject.keywordsHFMs
dc.subject.keywordsAI in digital health
dc.subject.keywordsDigital healthcare
dc.titleEvolving Software Ecosystems: The Role of Community Dynamics in Shaping Software Extensions
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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