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Developing Software through Crowdsourcing. Nezaket Yerinde. TopCoder. Jack Hughes CEO and founder Choice of crowdsourcing(a global community of more than 225000 programmers) for software solutions . Surprising Success. Bug-free and operational
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Developing Software through Crowdsourcing Nezaket Yerinde
TopCoder • Jack Hughes CEO and founder • Choice of crowdsourcing(a global community of more than 225000 programmers) for software solutions
Surprising Success • Bug-free and operational • In 4 months 65 participants to competitions
Thougths and Expectations of Huges • All aspects of software development • Increasing project volume • Contest demand high quality software • But $200 million in revenue possible?
Background and Current Operations • Business Data Services -1985 • Renaming as Tallan in 1991 • Recruitement Expensive and frustrating • Opposition of Tallan’s goal and Hughes’s about reusing computer programs basic components • Sold to CMGI in 2000 • TopCoder - found in 2001 which was envisioned as a two-sided (client-community members) platform • 2001-2003 web-based programming competitions • By the end 2004 environ 50000 community members • Acting as placement firm • In 2005, TopCoder use its own community
Conceptualization • Specification • Architecture • Component production • Application assembly • Certification and deployment
Hybrid Consulting Model • Identification reusable components from the software • Collecting components in a catalog • Production of applications by combining existing catalog components with new ones built through competition
Revenues and Costs In 2007 and 2008 nearly $20 million in revenue But platform manager costs remained high
Efforts for reducing costs • In 2007 – making competitions for component architecture and assembly(now, work was made by community not by platform managers) • In 2008 – adding also competition in software development task, such as conceptualization and specification • In 2009 – giving up hybrid model and completing all tasks in software through competitions • Clients paid a monthly platform fee Depending on the complexity of software Estimated number of competitions they would run through TopCoder platform
Competition Types • Algorithm ->Served for attracting new members and retaining existing members • And client software development • Initially developping a game plan by platform manager • Cross-examination of the client staff by contestants • Submission a business requirement document and use-cases • Choosing the best represents the needs of the clients
Evolution of the TopCoder Community • From 2001-2009 adding an average of 25000 new programmers • Latent pool– nearly %80 • Second group participated one time and then stopped. • Long tail – for learning • Everyday winners - %0.5