research software engineering

Jan Linxweiler from the Technische Universität Braunschweig will talk about “Learnings from SURESOFT - Research Software Engineering Beyond Tooling”.

Abstract: “Research software plays a crucial role in advancing various disciplines and driving scientific progress. Typically developed by scientists with a focus on short-term objectives, due to the pressure to publish results as fast as possible. Therefore, such software often faces challenges in regard to software quality and suffers from reproducibility issues caused by the rushed implementation and the developers’ limited training in software engineering. This hampers its widespread and enduring usage, thereby impeding the quality and pace of scientific research.

The SURESOFT project aims to tackle these issues by establishing a cohesive methodology and infrastructure applicable to most research software projects. While leveraging tools and principles from the discipline of software engineering like version control, continuous integration, containerization, software design principles and patterns as well as testing and Test Driven Development, SURESOFT seeks to enable researchers to enhance the quality of research software to ensure its long-term sustainability and availability.”

Institutions

• National Center for Supercomputing Applications

Neil Chue Hong from the Software Sustainability Institute and The University of Edinburgh

Abstract: “Since the coining of the term Research Software Engineer in 2012, the RSE community have focussed on understanding how to define what an RSE is, where they sit, and what they do. After a decade, we’ve realised that there isn’t a single job profile for an RSE, and there are multiple pathways to becoming an RSE. So what comes next for the profession as it continues to mature? In this talk, I’ll consider whether the RSE profession is defined not by what we do, but how and why we do things. How can research software engineering be meaningful and relevant to society, how can it continue to grow, and how can we make it easier to explain our job to others? I’ll also consider where RSE is going in the future, and how the role of an RSE may be changing.”

Institutions

• Helmholtz Platform for Research Software Engineering - Preparatory Study

We invite you to join us for the 31^st HiRSE Seminar on the 20^th June at 11am where Professor Caroline Jay from the Software Sustainability Institute and the University of Manchester will talk about ‘*Research Software Engineering and Software Engineering Research: Bridging Knowledge Gaps*’.

Abstract: Research software underpins computational research across many academic disciplines, and we might therefore assume that software engineering researchers (SERs), who investigate and develop methods to improve the quality of software and its lifecycle processes, have a strong interest in this growing area. Conversely, we might assume that research software engineers (RSEs) who must select, customize, and apply software engineering methods to create research software have an interest in the production and adoption of novel methods. Whilst there is strong theoretical overlap between these communities, in reality they interact very little. This talk will provide an overview of and personal reflection on a recent Dagstuhl seminar bringing RSEs and SERs together, covering the challenges of tribalism and terminology, and the opportunities of a new interdisciplinary research area.

Institutions

• Helmholtz Platform for Research Software Engineering - Preparatory Study

We invite you to join us on Monday 23^rd September at 13:15 CEST for a special HiRSE seminar where we are honoured to host all three award winners! They will present their software and their road to becoming an awardee of the 2023 Helmholtz Software Award.

In 2023 the Helmholtz Association opened the call for the first Helmholtz Software Award. The award aims to promote the development of professional and high-quality research software and to recognize the commitment to software as the basis of modern science. It puts the spotlight on sustainable development and operation of research software and recognises the importance of collaboration between research software engineers and will help making research software available for re-use.

After evaluation of the submissions by international experts and a final selection by a committee, the winners in the three categories Scientific Originality, Sustainability and Newcomer were selected and the centers of the winners were informed by the Helmholtz President, Prof. Dr. Otmar D. Wiestler.

Institutions

• Helmholtz Platform for Research Software Engineering - Preparatory Study

Wilhelm Hasselbring from Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel 

For large, complex software systems, the design of the overall system structure, known as software architecture, presents a critical challenge. Software architecture outlines the system in terms of components and their interconnections, distinguishing itself from the details of a fine-grained system description. It establishes a link between requirements and the final system, providing a rationale for design decisions and encompassing decisions about quality attributes, which can then be evaluated early in the development process. For instance, system performance is heavily impacted by the complexity of coordination and communication, especially when components are distributed across a network.

The reusability of components and services is significantly influenced by their coupling within the software architecture. When a new research software engineer begins work on an existing software system, the architecture is typically the first element they review. This can be challenging if the architecture is undocumented. In such cases, reverse engineering the architecture from the code can aid in understanding the program.

As the embodiment of initial design decisions, software architecture includes choices that are difficult to alter later, making them crucial for careful consideration. Research software is often developed with limited resources and without a long-term maintenance vision, which can lead to architectural decay.

The research software engineering community holds the belief that better software fosters better research. Similarly, the software engineering research community asserts that better architecture results in better software. Therefore, I advocate for enhanced consideration of architectures in research software to enhance the quality of research.

Institutions

• Helmholtz Platform for Research Software Engineering - Preparatory Study

Mihaela Jarema from Mathworks will talk in the HiRSE Seminar about Journey to FAIR Research Software with MATLAB

Abstract

Research software must be sustainable to enable scientists to build on the work of their peers effectively. This talk explores key capabilities, tools and services for researchers using MATLAB to develop FAIR research software. Additionally, the talk will describe complimentary collaboration opportunities with MathWorks aimed at facilitating sustainable research.

Institutions

• Helmholtz Platform for Research Software Engineering - Preparatory Study

Ann Gledson from University of Manchester will talk in the HiRSE Seminar about Agile Methods for RSEs. 

Abstract

The University of Manchester RSE department currently services around 70 research projects with the collective pipeline of projects just short of 100. Our department of 48 engineers is built to support research and academics; however, the scale of the operation brings with it complex managerial challenges around managing workloads, maintaining relationships with researchers and ensuring successful, collaborative project delivery. We need to ensure that our RSE developers and senior RSEs (in their capacity as project managers) are prepared and supported with adequate tooling and processes to deliver these projects both flexibly and consistently.

Consequently, we have implemented our own flavour of “Scrum” within GitHub projects. Scrum is a popular implementation of the principles of agile project management and software development. According to the Scrum Guide (https://www.scrum.org/resources/scrum-guide), Scrum is a lightweight agile framework that helps people, teams and organisations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems. This, to us, sounds an awful lot like research!

In this presentation, we will explain how agile working methods encourage a mindset where changes in requirements are the norm and where the solution development process embraces that change. In Scrum, this is achieved by continuously updating the requirements, working in “timeboxes”, and continuously engaging our academic customers. We have rolled our adaptation out across the department via a practical 2-day course for all RSEs and successfully tested it on an increasing number of research projects.

Attendees will learn how a Scrum Team works, and two of the available project management tools (Jira and GitHub Projects) with a focus on the latter. They will have a theoretical understanding of Scrum ‘Roles’, ‘Artefacts’ and ‘Ceremonies’. It will increase their understanding of how agile and scrum has been adapted within an RSE team and increase their ability to decide whether this process would be useful in their own workplaces/teams.

Institutions

• Helmholtz Platform for Research Software Engineering - Preparatory Study