Initial Findings from a Study of Best Practices and Models for Cyberinfrastructure Software Sustainability
This addresses the problem of software sustainability for cyberinfrastructure projects, offering practical insights, though it is incremental as it synthesizes existing practices.
The study identified common themes and recommendations for sustaining cyberinfrastructure software by interviewing leaders of 12 projects recognized as exemplars, providing general guidance based on these findings.
We present a set of common themes and recommendations extracted from in depth interviews with the leaders of 12 distinct cyberinfrastructure software projects. These interviews were conducted as part of a larger study to identify and elucidate the best practices and management models that lead to sustainability for cyberinfrastructure software. Respondents in a formal survey of cyberinfrastructure users identified these projects as good examples of sustained software initiatives. While there is clearly no single method or plan that will guarantee sustainability for all projects, we can draw general guidance from these exemplars. This paper presents the common themes, ideas, and recommendations that emerged from those interviews.