1. Towards a Meta-Method for Managing Scientific Software Development: The Project Community Scott Loynton University of Dundee

2. Outline for the Talk Overview of the Project The Purpose of the Research Working in OMERO - what challenges emerged The Framework that emerged from this What it is; requirements for such a framework to be reactive to the context How it works - 4 steps Further questions of the framework

3. OMERO Data Manager

4. OMERO Image Viewer

5. The Overview of the Project My own research has been working in the Usable Image Project and with the OMERO developers OMERO Developers Biological Imaging Scientists Usable Image Project

6. Working in OMERO - What Challenges Emerged OMERO Developers Biological Imaging Scientists Usable Image Project System Administrator’s Scientific Pressures Academic Pressures

7. Working in OMERO - Continuing Challenges ] [ Mixed roles New applications for software e.g. High Content Screening Data { } New System Administrator’s New Institutions/Laboratories Core Project Community Project Community

8. The Project Community Framework that Emerged... The Framework that emerged was to support the challenges of: Provide an understanding for the User Centered Design process. Support the communication of user research into the development process - support the translation for user research. The ability to be reactive and strategic to the nature of the evolving and changing environment. The context of the software development process The context of the scientific environment The context of the user centered process

9. How the Project Community Works { } { } Insights from context ] [ Central storage of project community Information { } Insights from community Perspectives on information - Define user research design activities in conjunction with software development. - Using them to build up understanding some model of context of the environments. ] [ Central storage of project community Information ][ Central storage of project community Information { } 12 3 4 Insights for project core & wider community

10. In Summary the Project Community It aims to support projects working under the constraints of academic scientific software development which can limit the amount and quality of user research they can do. Its purpose is for allowing a framework to plan that research, gather that knowledge and make meaningful design and “marketing” decisions based on it. And that it is not just user-centered design for the usability of the software, but there is the design “marketing” and “user management”. Developing and growing a “community” beyond requirements gathering and usability evaluations but is critical to the uptake and use of software. Can subsequently help provide teams/individuals to develop a strategy for how to evangelise their work to people, lay off others, identify and deal with blockers to access, how to manage expectations. - THIS IS THE VALUE OF BEING USER CENTERED -

11. Further and Ongoing Questions of the framework How the framework reacts in different Contexts eg - Software Development Environments. - People and Resources Available. - Scientific Communities. (Both Core and Wider Community) What new questions are asked of it in new environments?

12. Thank You for Listening Project information available at: www.usableimage.org www.openmicroscopy.org