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Posts: 263 | Thanked: 77 times | Joined on Jan 2009 @ Sigtuna, Sweden
#91
C. P. Snow wrote ”The Two Cultures”.
I have sensed it in many threads in the ITT, and to some degree even in this more serious thread.
And I believe it is at the bottom of the IT project. (sorry, badly phrased)
( I am not a programmer or developer or businessman, but I am trying to look at this from the outside. My post is meant for other outsiders, insiders will have seen something like this. )

It seems to me that the OSS developement culture is more akin to research than to projects in businesses. E.g.: In research the Finish Line moves on waiting for a/the Result. Researchers moving into business often have a hard time learning that the Deadline rules, and businessmen often have difficulties with that.

Let me digress with my first experience of Two Cultures to make my point clearer.
About 30 years ago I was allowed to join (as an observer) a group of nuclear physicists and cancer research physicians, about a dozen in all.
( The subject was a feasibility study of building an accelerator for charged particles for tumour irradiation (a new idea at the time), charged particles being much more efficient than neutrons for many kinds of tumours. )

To the point: It took about half a dozen meetings of a couple of hours each until physicists and physicians even began to understand each other!! Although to me it seemed that they did talk about the same things. (I lost many illusions of how science worked.)

( After the ”Communicator” and the 7710 model Nokia might have had some idea of the first buyers of the Internet Tablets, but I think a good guess is that the ITs were meant to be Nokias jumping board into a future of lowpowered Linux pocketables. That would make a reasonable price limit and a short development time desirable, with hard- and software shortcomings, as noted in this forum. Was that cheating the customers? I think not, they declared it to be an Internet Tablet, mainly for surfing, and nothing more. )

Credit to Nokia: They stated from the beginning that they HAD a lot to learn about OSS development and were willing to invest in that. Their published comments on Freemantle, Maemo and this community indicate that they HAVE started to learn their lesson (probably more, from the outside I do not know).
Now the other side: Have Nokia done enough to ease the collaboration by helping the OSS people understand Business Thinking? My guess is not.
( I do NOT mean that the OSS-group should adapt to Business, only that it helps if they understand it.)

Two Cultures ?
We humans live in groups, thrive in groups, develope group-speak (often without noticing, sometimes to keep others at a distance). We tend to immerse ourselves into our specialities.
We have a much longer history of living in selfsufficient clans than in todays society.
(And more that I do not know about.)

It IS hard for different ”cultures” to mix in constructive collaboration.

>> But when they succed, great things come out.

They have to learn to help each other overcome the learning curve of understanding the other side. And here, I think, Nokia has the greater responsibility. You insiders will know if they have lived up to it, or at least tried to.
 

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