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Seeking Enlightenment: Incorporating Evidence-Based Practice Techniques in a Research Software Engineering Team

Reed Milewicz, Jon Bisila, Miranda Mundt, Joshua Teves

TL;DR

An experience report on the use of a particular EBP technique, rapid reviews, within an RSE team at Sandia National Laboratories, and practical recommendations for how to address barriers to EBP adoption within the RSE community are presented.

Abstract

Evidence-based practice (EBP) in software engineering aims to improve decision-making in software development by complementing practitioners' professional judgment with high-quality evidence from research. We believe the use of EBP techniques may be helpful for research software engineers (RSEs) in their work to bring software engineering best practices to scientific software development. In this study, we present an experience report on the use of a particular EBP technique, rapid reviews, within an RSE team at Sandia National Laboratories, and present practical recommendations for how to address barriers to EBP adoption within the RSE community.

Seeking Enlightenment: Incorporating Evidence-Based Practice Techniques in a Research Software Engineering Team

TL;DR

An experience report on the use of a particular EBP technique, rapid reviews, within an RSE team at Sandia National Laboratories, and practical recommendations for how to address barriers to EBP adoption within the RSE community are presented.

Abstract

Evidence-based practice (EBP) in software engineering aims to improve decision-making in software development by complementing practitioners' professional judgment with high-quality evidence from research. We believe the use of EBP techniques may be helpful for research software engineers (RSEs) in their work to bring software engineering best practices to scientific software development. In this study, we present an experience report on the use of a particular EBP technique, rapid reviews, within an RSE team at Sandia National Laboratories, and present practical recommendations for how to address barriers to EBP adoption within the RSE community.
Paper Structure (18 sections, 2 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 18 sections, 2 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. Related Work
  4. Methodology
  5. Research Context
  6. Rapid Review Approach
  7. Results
  8. RQ1: What are the strengths and limitations of rapid reviews in RSE contexts?
  9. When should rapid reviews be performed?
  10. How long do rapid reviews take to perform?
  11. What are the limitations of rapid reviews?
  12. RQ2: What are the challenges for RSEs to adopt EBP techniques more generally? What strategies would help address those challenges?
  13. Challenge: RSEs Need Training
  14. Challenge: Research is Incomplete
  15. Challenge: Convincing Others to Adopt Best Practices
  16. ...and 3 more sections

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: A diagram illustrating the key elements of evidence-based practice in software engineering. The goal of EBP is to unite practitioners' experiences and the needs and values of their customers with the depth and rigor of findings from research, enabling them to make better decisions and produce better software.
  • Figure 2: From left to right, excerpts from evidence briefings resulting from rapid reviews RR2, RR3, and RR4. The end goal of a rapid review is to translate findings from research literature into actionable guidance for practitioners.