JavaScript is a front-end and back-end language for producing web content. Hundreds of frameworks aimed at improving some aspect or another of working with it attest to its popularity. This paper is a structured qualitative analysis of what leads to the adoption of one JavaScript framework over another. The goal is to identify the criteria, according to a sample audience, that drive adoption.

For this analysis, there are two critical components to define: a model for the criteria, and the choice of the sample audience. After a review of previous literature aimed at similar goals, this work’s contribution proposes (1) a model inspired by the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), and, for the sample audience, (2) a selection of volunteer participants mined from social media for job role, framework used, experience, focus (front- or back-end), organization type (for example, research, commercial), and organization size. A structured but open-ended interview provides information that is later coded consistently with methods and goals. The result is a checklist of representative criteria amenable to multiple applications, such as polishing an existing framework for greater appeal or establishing framework requirements.

An acknowledged important limitation of this work is the small sample audience size. Another limitation is the failure to define “framework.” In addition, volunteer participation from social media may bias the audience sample to a vocal and possibly opinionated minority. Perhaps in a larger study, screening participants on the five-factor personality taxonomy (FFM) could help identify potential drifts.