Exploring LibreOffice's Governance and Documentation as a Basis for Architecture Research
The sustainability of large‑scale open source systems depends on how architectural knowledge is created, communicated, and maintained within their communities. While numerous FLOSS projects exhibit emergent, informal architecture, the extent to which these practices can be examined through a rigorous, socio‑technical and ethical lens remains unclear. This project proposes to evaluate LibreOffice as a potential case study within a multi-methods research effort. A systematic assessment will be conducted that (i) maps the existing architectural artifacts, (ii) analyzes the communication channels that convey architectural rationale, (iii) identifies governance mechanisms that allocate decision authority, and (iv) extracts ethical indicators by means of automated proxies and semi‑structured interviews. The findings will reveal whether LibreOffice's governance model, contributor diversity, and documentation practices provide sufficient traceability and richness for a multi‑method case‑study design. If confirmed, LibreOffice will be positioned as a representative "high‑complexity, community‑driven" FLOSS project, enabling the broader research agenda on lightweight interventions that make architectural work more explicit, inclusive, and reflective. The presentation will invite feedback on LibreOffice's suitability and on refining the operationalisation of socio‑technical and ethical constructs for future comparative studies.