Ask HN: How do you know if there's a market/need for an OSS project?

[bogdanu]

Hi HNers, I've started working on an open source Applicant tracking system and, seeing the volume of work needed, I started to have some second thoughts if there's actually a need for something like this.

Right now there's just one open source ATS that got a bit of negative feedback because it's licensing and security issues.

So, my question is: How do you know if there's a need for a OSS project? Do you treat it just like a commercial project and do the market research before actually starting to work on it?

Sadly, I don't have any connections on the industry which makes things a lot harder.

[h2odragon]

Find something you need done, and make software that does that.

Trying to solve other people's problems which you don't share isn't likely to lead to real solutions, nor be appreciated by those you're trying to market it to: "this person has no clue what our needs are and they want us to use their solution to the problems they imagine we have"

[bogdanu]

As a software engineer, you don't have many options other than building yet another tech shovel for your fellow engineers.

I would want to build something that actually benefits non technical users. Not sure if it makes sense what I'm trying to say.

[h2odragon]

If you are not one of those users for whom the software is built, how will you know when you're done?

[bogdanu]

You don't, it's one of the issues I have, trying really hard to scope the project. I basically try to replicate the features the likes of Greenhouse are selling, obviously on a simpler scale.

[nazgulsenpai]

My two-cents is that if you're making a FOSS app yourself, it needs to be something you need or want to make. If you try to make something for other people without fully understanding the requirements you're probably going to lose interest. A lot of the FOSS apps I have made/use are for specific, single use cases like game addons because they interest me at the time.

If you aren't passionate about a thing its really hard to motivate yourself to work on said thing.

If you're making something you want to make a living off of, then naturally treat it like you would a commercial product.

[HayR2]

Contribute to the existing project and improve it? Isn't that the FOSS way? Especially if you don't have a connection to the industry. I'm sure the project would be very appreciative.

[jqpabc123]

"Market" implies money, income, trade.

How do you make money from free software? Short answer --- you don't.

There may be a need/desire but there is no real "market" for Open Source.

[bogdanu]

Ideally I would prefer to sustain myself from one of these projects. There are a lot of projects that are successful. Sure they aren't making a fortune, but they enough money to support their maintainers.

[jqpabc123]

but they enough money to support their maintainers.

Are you sure?

I haven't done a survey but my guess is that the Open Source developers being supported solely by their projects are a very small fraction. But best of luck becoming one of the select few.