LibIndSys

Purpose

• Development of industrial software systems based on libre and free 3rd party software
• Operating and further developing such running systems
• Helping local companies in achieving the skill and experience to run and further develop such systems
• Focus on SMEs
• Restricted to engaging Norwegian-owned and -based companies

DevOps

A modern and reliable paradigm for LibIndSys to succeed would be DevOps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DevOps

This may ensure that the personnel operations are also involved with development of the system and routines, and vice versa.

Association Model

Association components:

• Development
• Operation
• Support
• Maintenance

LibIndSys should be centred around development of systems, mostly systems that integrates with third-part. These systems may be taken into operation, be maintained, and support for further development given. Typically development should lead quickly to an operational prototype or pilot system, for which support and development will evolve it into an integral system at the industrial partner site.

Gradually, responsability for the system will be offloaded to the industrial partner. Especially the responsability for operation and maintenance should be entirely offloaded during a limited period of time. Whether responsability for support and further development may be offloaded entirely, or to what degree and over how long a period it may be offloaded, depends highly on the commitment of and develpment of skills at the industrial partner in relation to the complexity of the system.

All engagements must take its offspring from some development and some code base manifested in LibIndSys. LibIndSys should not purely deliver or operate third-part systems.

A central and traditional problem that will be attempted to be avoided is that of disengaging the developers, whom would naturally maintain support and maintenance responsability, from operational aspects. Hence, the industrial partners must invest capital and time in keeping LibIndSys engaged with some amount of operational responsability, until it can be fully determined that support and maintenance by LibIndSys is safe without operational engagement, or until the industrial partner have gained a sufficient level of skill with the system and its technologies to carry out support and maintenance on their own.

Organization Structure

LibIndSys should be a cooperative with organizational structure as a centre. Hence there are no, or only few, permanently associated staff. However, the centre leader should at all times be someone with permanent association.

Personnel resources should be recruited on a temporary basis for part-time work. Resources should be recruited from industrial partners as part of their commitment, from third part companies such as systems integrators and systems suppliers as part of their long term investment, and from research and development institutions to bring the new and flexible technologies into operative systems.

Ownership

The ownership model should be flexible. Permanent ownership will be held by research and development institutions. Industrial partners will hold membership as long as they have contractual ties with LibIndSys. Third part industrial partners will be granted ownership in cases where they commit themselves to participate in the development of the code base and systems from LibIndSys.

Financial Structure

The openness of the organization, the restriction to Norwegian-owned and -based companies, and the commitment to only develop libre code systems could enable LibIndSys to acquire a substantial support from the Norwegian government; e.g. the Research Council of Norway. One way of supporting could be 30% to 50% funding on the hours spent in development and support by associated resources at LibIndSys. Another, non-exclusive, way of funding from RCN could be a basic funding to keep an infrastructure and administration of LibIndSys operational at zero activity.

Industrial partner-members could pay an basic, annual membership fee as well as per hour or per project for utilization of the resources of LibIndSys.