Why developing research software is like a startup (and why this matters)

When we think about the software used in research and science, we might think of the commercial packages with thousands of users, or the millions of lines of code that support experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider, or indeed the millions of scripts written every day by researchers across the world to undertake simple tasks. What is clear is that modern research relies on software: a recent survey of UK researchers conducted by the Software Sustainability Institute reported that 92% of researchers used software, and 69% could not conduct their work without it. Millions of dollars are invested each year in supporting a quasi-industry of software production, with the equivalent of the full-spectrum from large multinationals and tiny cottage industries, but little is known about whether this is efficient or indeed appropriate. This talk examines the similarities between the development of software in the research environment and the lifecycle of technology startup companies. It also considers the driving factors behind adoption of software and the impact of software sustainability on the ability to conduct research. It was first delivered as a keynote at the 2015 International Symposium on Grids and Clouds held in Taipei.

Slides available from: http://www.slideshare.net/npch/why-developing-research-software-is-like-a-startup-and-why-this-matters