Publication: Guide to Open Source Software
- 01
- Jul
Back in March, Glenn Archer asked for feedback on the draft Guide to Open Source Software. I was very pleased with the response.
Thank you to everybody who provided feedback.
We have made some changes to the guide as a result of feedback including:
- Clarifying the focus of the guide
- Where appropriate, providing linkages between AGIMO and other government documents as well as to other open source software products.
- Highlighting the Guide to ICT Sourcing and the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines in the document as it contains Australian Government information on procurement processes.
Some of the feedback we received related to the Open Source Software Policy. The policy was released in January 2011 and we have reproduced it in the guide for ease of reading. AGIMO will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the policy and update it as appropriate.
The Guide to Open Source Software for Australian Government Agencies, Version 2.0 has now been revised and finalised following the public feedback.
Ann Steward
Australian Government Chief Information Officer
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Just a couple of comments on this:
1. Could you list the open-source software that was used in constructing the document? It’s a bit pedantic but if the point is to encourage the use of FOSS software, it would be nice to see AGIMO eating it’s own dog food so to speak. For instance, was the document designed on Ubuntu in an open source publishing solution and saved in an open-standard format, or was it produced on Microsoft Windows running Adobe InDesign and stored in a format no other program can open?
2. Could the document list of the current open source licenses and which ones comply with the objectives of the document? For example, the statement in “Licence Must Not Restrict Other Software” might prevent the use of GPL software given the restrictions it can place on other software. A list of the most popular licenses and their compliance would greatly ...
... aid in the selection of such software.
3. The style of the document is very clean and easy to read. Could AGIMO standardise the format of documents produced? You could even colour-code them for easier reference (Red = Open Source, Green = Procurement etc.)
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This document, as do all Finance publications, complies with the Australian Government’s web publishing guidelines as well as the Department of Finance and Deregulation’s Style Guide, to ensure an accessible, standardized and consistent approach to document publication.
AGIMO currently uses WordPress, an open source software platform, for its AGIMO Blog and other websites such as data.gov.au. We also offer WordPress hosting capabilities to other agencies through the govspace service.
The Open Source Software Policy requires agencies to consider open source software equally in all software procurements however the choice of solution will still be determined by the provisions of the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines and value for money.
The aim of the Guide to Open Source Software is to provide agencies with direction on the risks associated with open source licenses. The Guide does not attempt to list all open source licenses as individual license terms ...
... and conditions may vary. Compliance with licenses is a matter for agencies and the Guide outlines practices for agencies to mitigate risks.
Regarding your last question, the greater use of colour in documents to differentiate between various elements is a good idea. Subject to the need to still comply with accessibility requirements, we will look to see how we can use colour more in future.
Thank you for your comments.
Regards
Glenn Archer
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