Appendices

8. Validating the IMIA OSWG objectives

The objectives of the IMIA OSWG were approved when the formation of the Working Group was accepted by the IMIA General Assembly on October 2002 in Taipei, Taiwan.

These are:

• bringing together experts and interested individuals from a wide range of health professions and with a range of interests in the potential application of open source solutions within their domains of expertise.

• exploring the implications of the open source approach for all aspects of IMIA's areas of interest.

• working with other Working and Special Interest Groups to explore the appropriate use of open source solutions and applications.

• through close interaction with, and cross-membership with, many other open source groups outside IMIA, facilitating both the use of other groups' expertise in the areas under consideration, and the input of IMIA views to those other groups' work and discussions.

At present, in common with many other organisations involved in the open source domain, the OSWG can see the benefits of the open source approach to the development and use of applications within health, healthcare, and health informatics to be centred around (but not limited to) the following points:

• transparency of solutions, facilitating peer review and better quality assurance

• the reuse of components, stress on collaborative development, and resource sharing

• user needs being a driving force behind the development of solutions

• flexibility in development processes, taking account of a need for and ability to react to changing needs

• developments not being controlled by any single organisation, enterprise, or vested interest

• the rapid spread of innovation

• encouraging accessibility to products in developing countries

• flexibility in distribution of solution costs, giving users more options, e.g. for improved support and training

• creation of new business niches based on services supported by open source software

• usable, rather than purely esoteric, results being developed.

Participants' views on a number of these points were sought, in terms of both their own views on the points, and on what they thought might be the views of the wider population.

The following questions relate to participants' own views:

Do you think that transparency of solutions, facilitating peer review and better quality assurance is an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications

1. Strongly Agree 49%

2. Agree 49%

3. Neutral 8%

4. Disagree 0%

5. Strongly Disagree 0%

Do you think that reuse of components, stress on collaborative development, and resource sharing is an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications

1. Strongly Agree 52%

2. Agree 36%

3. Neutral 12%

4. Disagree 0%

5. Strongly Disagree 0%

Do you think that user needs being a driving force behind the development of solutions is an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications ?

1. Strongly Agree 33%

2. Agree 25%

3. Neutral 29%

4. Disagree 12%

5. Strongly Disagree 0%

Do you think that developments not being controlled by any single organisation, enterprise, or vested interest is an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications ?

1. Strongly Agree 56%

2. Agree 8%

3. Neutral 24%

4. Disagree 12%

5. Strongly Disagree 0%

Do you think that flexibility in distribution of solution costs is an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications?

1. Strongly Agree 15%

2. Agree 38%

3. Neutral 35%

4. Disagree 12%

5. Strongly Disagree 0%

Do you think that the rapid spread of innovation is an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications?

1. Strongly Agree 52%

2. Agree 16%

3. Neutral 16%

4. Disagree 16%

5. Strongly Disagree 0%

Do you think that encouraging accessibility to products in developing countries is an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications ?

1. Strongly Agree 58%

2. Agree 31%

3. Neutral 8%

4. Disagree 4%

5. Strongly Disagree 0%

The following questions relate to participants' views on what they thought the views of the wider target/user population of the Working Group's activities would be:

Do you think the target / user population perceives transparency of solutions, facilitating peer review and better quality assurance as an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications?

1. Strongly Agree 0%

2. Agree 8%

3. Neutral 29%

4. Disagree 54%

5. Strongly Disagree 8%

Do you think the target / user population perceives reuse of components, stress on collaborative development, and resource sharing as an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications?

1. Strongly Agree 0%

2. Agree 12%

3. Neutral 25%

4. Disagree 29%

5. Strongly Disagree 33%

Do you think the target / user population perceives user needs being a driving force behind the development of solutions as an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications?

1. Strongly Agree 0%

2. Agree 8%

3. Neutral 20%

4. Disagree 52%

5. Strongly Disagree 20%

Do you think the target / user population perceives developments not being controlled by any single organisation, enterprise, or vested interest as an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications?

1. Strongly Agree 8%

2. Agree 27%

3. Neutral 19%

4. Disagree 42%

5. Strongly Disagree 4%

Do you think the target / user population perceives the rapid spread of innovation as an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications?

1. Strongly Agree 4%

2. Agree 8%

3. Neutral 40%

4. Disagree 48%

5. Strongly Disagree 0%

Do you think the target / user population perceives encouraging accessibility to products in developing countries as an advantage of Open Source approach over proprietary software development in healthcare applications

1. Strongly Agree 0%

2. Agree 12%

3. Neutral 44%

4. Disagree 28%

5. Strongly Disagree 16%

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Copyright (c) 2004 IMIA Open Source Working Group and British Computer Society Health Informatics Committee

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