Is my Dependency Sustainable? A Systematic Mapping on Open Source Software Sustainability
Published in , 2026
Context: With growing software reuse and interoperability, Open Source Software (OSS) is more ubiquitous than ever. Often sourced for free from volunteer-driven work, many developers lack aware ness of the sustainability of OSS they depend on. Adopting OSS components while building software systems has long-lasting con sequences, not only bringing benefits, but also risks. Understanding the sustainability of OSS dependencies thus becomes a critical ac tivity during software design and development. However, OSS sus tainability is not a very well-defined concept, thus making research and decisions regarding OSS adoption more difficult. Objective: Synthesize how the wider concept of OSS sustainability is currently understood “in the wild”, explore how it can be characterized, and discuss the impact a better understanding can have on more respon sible OSS adoption. Method: We conducted a systematic mapping study (SMS) across 111 studies from the literature to extract sustain ability understandings, synthetized into aspects of sustainability in OSS projects. Results: Social and technical concerns are well explored and reaffirm the importance of the OSS community. Indi vidual, economic, and environmental definitions remain relatively underexplored. There is a growing usage of the term “sustainabil ity” in OSS research. We propose 19 aspects that can be utilized to understand OSS sustainability. Conclusion: Those aspects can be utilized by practitioners who rely on OSS to better understand the projects they depend upon, as well by researchers exploring this ecosystem.
Recommended citation: Fontes, G. S., dos Santos, V., & Nakagawa, E. Y. (2026, April 13). Is my dependency sustainable? A systematic mapping on open source software sustainability. In ICSE - Designing 2026 (Domain-specific Design & Theory Building track), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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