Towards Better Open-Source Development : Improving PyQtGraph’s Feature-Development Process

PyQtGraph library is an open-source, pure-python graphics library. The popularity of open-source software, such as PyQtGraph, depends to a large extent on the utility of its features. The objective of this thesis is to present guidelines for the feature development process of the PyQtGraph library. The PyQtGraph library’s software development process consists of a user group that proposes and develops features through forum interactions and by writing new code. As the developer community, including the maintainer of the PyQtGraph library, works on a voluntary basis, users might not have the time and commitment to work on a feature for an extended period of time. In order to overcome this constraint, the code development process of the PyQtGraph project should be optimized to facilitate easy collaboration between users. For the purpose of studying the code development process of the PyQtGraph library, the library’s forum posts were analysed. Different types of forum discussions were studied: those leading to new features as well as those that did not generate any new feature. Based on an analysis of the project’s forum posts and the corresponding changes to the Github repository, guidelines for the development of a tool that would aid collaboration between users during the feature development process were created. This thesis could be useful for a developer contributing to the PyQtGraph project, as also to the maintainer of the PyQtGraph project to review the code development process