A BSTR A C T K eyst one pl ayers, t he com pany t hat occupi es t he cruci al hubs, need t o nurt ure i t s i nhabi t ant s t o keep t he ecosyst em act i ve. M any m odern ecosyst em s have com m uni t i es of pract i ce w here know l edge i s transferred by col l aborat i ve probl em sol vi ng, shari ng of i deas, soft w are com ponent s or confi gurat i ons. In recent years a wi dely spread m edi um for com m uni t i es of pract i ce i s t he use of onl i ne di scussion boards. Thi s

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... proposes a m et hod t o anal yze t he rel at i onshi p bet ween soft ware rel eases and act i vi t y i n a com m uni t y. Thi s paper expl ai ns how soft ware ecosyst em K eyst one com pani es can use soft ware product r el ease m anagem ent t o cul t i vat e com m uni t i es of pract i ce usi ng an i l l ust rat i ve case st udy. In t hi s case study a com pari son i s m ade bet w een t wo com m uni t i es i n t he A ndroi d ecosystem . The resul t s show peaks in com m uni t y act i vit y coi nci di ng w i t h t he soft ware rel eases. The rel ease not onl y revi t al i zes t he act i vi t y of t he devel opers but t he het erogeneous com m uni t y i n i t s ent i ret y. C ategori es and Subject D escri ptors K . 1 [C om puti ng M i l i eux]: The Com put i ng Indust ry m arket s, standards, suppli ers G eneral Term s M anagem ent , M easurem ent , H um an Fact ors, Theory, V eri fi cat i on K eyw ords Soft ware ecosyst em s, com m uni t i es of pract i ce, know l edge m anagem ent .