There is certainly some survivorship bias involved. The filter (50+ weeks of activity, 8+ contributors, etc) only selects somewhat successful software projects.

There is certainly some survivorship bias involved. The filter (50+ weeks of activity, 8+ contributors, etc) only selects somewhat successful software projects. Big professional software development also emphasizes reliable planning, requirements engineering, and documented processes. In contrast, most open source projects begin in a cowboy style with a single person starting to code without requirements and processes and often not even much of a plan. This lightweight process implies a lot more risk and indeed most of these projects fail. That is fine. The free software world rather goes with this evolutionary approach. I wonder if there is any company which works in a similar way. Start lots of projects with a fraction of the resources. Be fine with most projects failing. I guess not because this approach is hardly compatible with career development. Googles 20% rule might be considered a step in that direction.