Avoiding Mistakes and Measuring Success in Collaborative Development

The success of open source initiatives and the growing popularity of social media tools such as blogs and wikis have led many enterprises to adopt the open source model of collaboration for internal development projects. By replacing traditional, hierarchical project management with an open, collaborative approach that draws on a much broader pool of contributors, these organizations hope to improve product quality, operational efficiency, and marketplace agility.

Changing to a new approach has risks and rewards. What pitfalls should organizations avoid? How should they measure their collaborative development project's success?