Abstract:
This paper presents a methodology that is designed to improve upon established approaches
to the identification of lead users amongst communities of end users.
While it is clear that organisations can benefit by applying the lead user method – an
approach that recognises that certain end users of products are a valuable source and in
some industries the only source of new product innovations, the process has been criticised
for it's resource intensive nature. The individuals who author Open Source Software (OSS) –
complex and high-quality computer software that is typically distributed free of charge and
without restrictions on use – appear to share many common characteristics with Eric von
Hippel's (2005) lead users. These skilled computer programmers develop their software
collaboratively, and often form large communities that congregate in Internet 'chat rooms' to
discuss and manage their software development projects. In response to a call for further
research to improve the performance of the lead user method, this paper integrates concepts
from the fields of innovation management, data visualisation and open source software to
construct a process designed to improve the process of identifying lead users in OSS
communities.
