GSoC/GCI Archive
Google Code-in 2011 KDE

Research: Understanding KDE Users (Organizations)

completed by: Radoslav Asparuhov

mentors: kallecarl

"KDE technology is used within companies and other organizations. In some cases, individual users have the ability to choose their computer operating environments; in others, this is an organizational decision. Beyond this general information, not much is known about the use of KDE in organizational settings. With better intelligence, the KDE community could be more effective at working with organizations and the users in them. In addition, developing closer relationships with organizations could be useful for gaining financial support for KDE operations.
KDE outreach efforts are stymied by the lack of direct contact with users. Typically, KDE technology is included seamlessly in downstream Linux distributions such as Kubuntu, openSUSE and many more. It is also available as an option for most Linux and similar operating systems. Currently, there is no reliable way to know about KDE use in organizations, even if KDE is a key part of a widespread Linux deployment.
This project involves:
  • planning for the project
  • understanding and documenting pertinent background information,
  • the possibility of working with KDE development teams,
  • Creating research goals (what information should be gathered, how will it be used, what would be helpful to know),
  • exploring and analyzing research methods, and
  • determining the effectiveness of various research methods.

This project is intended to produce well-reasoned recommendations; it does not involve doing the actual research.
Expected results: At least five suggestions of methods for gathering pertinent, actionable information, including pros and cons, rationale, recommendations."