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Open-Source Software (OSS), known for its collaborative development and transparent access to source code, provides an effective way for businesses to achieve community-driven innovation, improved security, cost-efficiency, rapid prototyping, and customization. Despite of such benefits, the use of OSS has not yet reached the expected levels. This paper describes activities and outcomes of a recent R&D project that sought to strengthen companies' change- and innovation capabilities by offering them consultancy, guidance, and training for utilizing OSS in their business and digitalization development efforts. During the project, industry needs were gathered, and OSS solutions were proposed for companies' identified needs. Based on the experiences of collaborating with businesses, and on a survey exploring current understanding of OSS opportunities and competence needs, the project planned for an establishment of regional Open-Source Competence Centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Delphi method is a structured communication technique and a systematic, interactive futures research method that aims to achieve a convergence of opinion on a specific real-world issue by relying on a panel of experts. Despite the popularity of the Delphi method to deal with complex problems, several shortcomings of the method have also been reported, such as time consumption, labour intensiveness, high drop-out rates, and low response rates. Many characteristics of the Delphi method can be conveniently supported with web-based tools. Such tools can also mitigate many of the known shortcomings of the Delphi method. The purpose of this article is to discuss the suitability of web-based tools to support the Delphi method and to introduce Aavistus - a new platform to facilitate collective learning through real-time knowledge-sharing experiences. We share our early experiences of using the Aavistus platform and outline a roadmap for further developing it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional business development approaches have questionable effectiveness in dealing with changing and uncertain business environments, and more proactive alternatives are needed. The purpose of this research was to understand how the entrepreneurs of micro-enterprises perceived the usefulness of Lean Startup as a business development methodology in solving challenges posed by the global coronavirus crisis. Three micro-enterprises representing the hospitality industry were supported in using the Lean Startup methodology in series of company-specific workshops and group meetings, and the entrepreneurs were interviewed after the process. The results revealed strategies, which the case organizations had used to react to the coronavirus crisis, as well as benefits and challenges of following the Lean Startup methodology. The gathered experiences suggest that the Lean Startup methodology and related facilitation activities could be strategically beneficial for micro-enterprises in creating new services and addressing the challenge of lack of resources and established business development methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small organizations have been claimed to manage their requirements in ways that bear no relation to what the textbooks say, and what is taught in undergraduate courses. This paper explores software engineering (SE) practices in five small and medium-sized organizations in order to gain a deeper understanding on how cooperative and human aspects of the SE-related practices differ in small organizations compared to the larger ones. The paper illustrates, in detail, the central role of human collaboration in small organizations and the challenges an organization meets when it begins to grow and lose opportunities for face-to-face collaboration. The findings of this study suggest that studies on using social media are a valuable addition to software engineering research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]