Interoperability of PUNCH software in the Python ecosystem

The Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission team is developing software to solve common astronomical problems. regularizePSF corrects variable point spread functions, and solpolpy resolves solar polarization to a standard frame. These packages are used in the core PUNCH pipeline package - punchbowl. We developed this software with the larger scientific community's usability in mind, not just for use in our pipeline. regularizePSF is PyHC and AstroPy affiliated, and follows community development guidelines. We plan to affiliate solpolpy soon with PyHC and SunPy. Our packages heavily leverage SunPy, AstroPy, CCSDSPy, and ndcube as well as other general packages such as numpy, scikit-image, sep, and lmfit. We discuss the challenges that arise from a complex set of dependencies and share some lessons learned on how to modify code to address these challenges. Developing for a wider audience requires more extensive documentation, testing, and collaboration. These challenges led to more robust packages and enabled outside use and contributions. We believe more openness, collaboration, and development to a common standard will result in better science.