Skip to content

docs: simplify roadmap text #339

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Merged
merged 6 commits into from
May 30, 2025
Merged

docs: simplify roadmap text #339

Changes from 3 commits
Commits
Show all changes
6 commits
Select commit Hold shift + click to select a range
5e6b78b
docs: :pencil2: simplify roadmap text
signekb May 27, 2025
2788756
style: :art: format `.qmd`
signekb May 27, 2025
80fb9e0
Merge branch 'main' into docs/simplify-roadmap-text
signekb May 27, 2025
744b7c1
docs: :typo: fix reference to sprout reference docs
signekb May 30, 2025
99c6afe
docs: :pencil2: add missing "seedcase-" in Sprout's repo name
signekb May 30, 2025
e0aae30
Merge branch 'main' into docs/simplify-roadmap-text
signekb May 30, 2025
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
133 changes: 56 additions & 77 deletions roadmap/index.qmd
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -7,124 +7,107 @@ format:

{{< include /includes/_wip.qmd >}}

This is a very high level roadmap and "wishlist" for products we aim or
want to create and develop in the Seedcase Project. We do not include
timelines or estimates for completion in this document (see note below).
We have a more detailed and regularly updated roadmap that has some
general timelines available on our [Long-term Planning GitHub
Board](https://github.com/orgs/seedcase-project/projects/22/views/1).
This is a high level roadmap for products we want to create in the
Seedcase Project. We do not include timelines or estimates for
completion in this document.

::: callout-important
Estimating a timeline can be extremely difficult, as it is dependent on
multiple factors that often can't be predicted or anticipated.
Therefore, and from our experiences on timelines regularly needing to be
updated, we avoid giving specific timelines in this document.
:::
For a more detailed and regularly updated roadmap, see our [Long-term
Planning GitHub
Board](https://github.com/orgs/seedcase-project/projects/22/views/1).

## Product wishlist
## Product roadmap

This is a non-exhaustive list of products or outputs that we believe
fill multiple strong needs within the research community, especially in
order to remain relevant and competitive in the modern research
landscape. We believe that we have the capability, expertise,
motivation, and passion to complete these products. These products, we
believe, will substantially improve how research will be done in the
future. However, given our current timelines and resources, we can't
complete all of them but we list them here to show our visions and
This is a non-exhaustive list of products or outputs that we believe can
fill multiple strong needs within the research community. These
products, we believe, have the capacity to substantially improve how
research is done. However, given our current timelines and resources, we
can't complete all of them. We list them here to show our visions and
goals.

They are split into three main categories: software and
software-related, technical documentation, and events. Technical
documentation encompasses more than just usage guides or manuals for
software, but also includes courses, opinion pieces, and outreach
materials.
software-related, technical documentation, and outreach.

Products are listed in the order that we would like to work on and aim
to complete them. Beside each product is a status, which is one of the
following:
Products are listed in the order that we plan to work on and complete
them. Beside each product is one of the following status icons:

| Status | Description |
|:-----------------------------:|:----------------------------------------|
| {{< var status.done >}} | Products we have completed a minimally viable product (MVP) of. As products are never truly "done", the "done" status simply indicates that the product is now in a usable state, but that we will continue improving and working on it. |
| {{< var status.wip >}} | Products we are currently working on. |
| {{< var status.planned >}} | Products we plan to work on and aim to complete within the current funding period (end of 2027). |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Products we are very interested in working on, but given the time and resources, may likely not get to within the current funding period (end of 2027). |
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | Products that we will continually work on and that don't strictly have a defined endpoint for "done" (e.g. aren't ever released or uploaded to an archive). |
| {{< var status.done >}} | Products we've completed with a minimally viable product (MVP) that we'll continue to improve and work on. |
| {{< var status.wip >}} | Products we are working on currently. |
| {{< var status.planned >}} | Products we plan to complete within the current funding period (end of 2027). |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Products we'd like to work on, but probably won't finish within the current funding period (end of 2027) due to limited time and resources, |
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | Ongoing products without a final release (e.g., not archived or officially published). |

### Software and software-related

Because of the evolving nature of developing software, software products
are rarely "complete", as they continue to be improved on and updated.
The product reaches MVP and done status when we have created its first
release on an official software archive (like PyPI for Python packages).
After the first release of a MVP and if it gets sufficient use, it will
continue to be tested and refined based on user feedback and identified
bugs.
Because software development is an ongoing process, software products
are rarely truly "complete". They continue to evolve through updates and
improvements. A product is considered to have reached MVP and "done"
status once its first version is released on an official software
archive (like PyPI for Python packages). If the product gets sufficient
use, it will continue to be tested and refined based on user feedback.

Some of these products are not strictly software, but can be used within
a software environment, can be integrate into other workflows, or are
used to support research software and data engineering.
Some of these products are not strictly software, but are designed to
work within software environments, integrate with other workflows, or
support research software and data engineering.

::: panel-tabset
#### Software

| Status | Software |
|:---------------------------------------------:|:------------------------|
|:--------------------------------------------:|:------------------------|
| {{< var status.wip >}} | [`seedcase-project/seedcase-sprout`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/seedcase-sprout): Upload your research data to formally structure it for better, more reliable, and easier research. |
| {{< var status.planned >}} | `seedcase-project/check-datapackage`: Check the correctness of a `datapackage.json` file. |
| {{< var status.planned >}} | `seedcase-flower`: Cataloging and browsing metadata within a data package. |
| {{< var status.planned >}} | `seedcase-shears`: Processing raw data into a [Tidy](https://vita.had.co.nz/papers/tidy-data.pdf) [Polars DataFrame](https://pola.rs/). |
| {{< var status.planned >}} | `seedcase-propagate`: Submitting requests for accessing specific data from a data package. |
| {{< var status.planned >}} | `seedcase-garden`: Tend to and track projects using data from a data package. |

: "Wishlist" of software products we are currently working on, will work
on, or hope to work on.
: "Wishlist" of software products.

#### Software-related products

| Status | Software-related product |
|:---------------------------------------------:|:------------------------|
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/seedcase-theme`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/seedcase-theme): Template repository for website projects with a Seedcase-specific Quarto extension for aesthetics, helper commands, and infrastructural files. |
|:--------------------------------------------:|:------------------------|
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/seedcase-theme`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/seedcase-theme): Template repository for website projects with a Seedcase-specific Quarto extension for aesthetics and infrastructural files. |
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/template-python-project`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/template-python-project): A template repository to use when making a Python project for Seedcase. |
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/spaid`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/spaid): A toolkit for developing Seedcase projects. |

: "Wishlist" of software-related products we are currently working on,
will work on, or hope to work on.
: "Wishlist" of software-related products.
:::

### Technical documentation

Following the [diátaxis](https://diataxis.fr/) method to structuring
documentation, documentation is split up into four types: tutorials,
how-to guides, reference, and explanation. A brief description of these
types of documentation are expanded upon in the sections below. These
technical documentation products reach MVP and done status when they are
either:
Following the [diátaxis](https://diataxis.fr/) method, we split
documentation into four types: tutorials, how-to guides, reference, and
explanation. A brief description of these types are expanded upon in the
sections below. These technical documentation products reach MVP and
done status when they are either:

- Uploaded to an archive like Zenodo (to generate a DOI).
- Taught to participants in a course setting.
- Taught to participants in a workshop setting.
- Uploaded to a software archive (like PyPI) if they are within a
software product's repository and are executable (the code within
runs).

::::: panel-tabset
#### Tutorials

Tutorials are learning-oriented documentation that includes multi-day
courses, online tutorials, and learning shorts. These will be developed
as [open educational
Tutorials are learning-oriented documentation that includes workshops,
online tutorials, and learning shorts. These will be developed as [open
educational
resources](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_educational_resources).

| Status | Learning resource |
|:--------------------------------------------:|:-------------------------|
| {{< var status.wip >}} | [`rostools/git4cats`](https://github.com/rostools/git4cats): 🐱 Git for Collaborative Teams: An introductory course on using Git and GitHub for team-based collaborative workflows and practices |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Course: Introduction to building research software using Python as a solo developer in research environments. |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Course: Iterative project management and development for effective collaboration and work. |
| {{< var status.done >}} | [`rostools/github-intro`](https://github.com/rostools/github-intro): An introductory workshop on using GitHub |
| {{< var status.wip >}} | [`rostools/git4cats`](https://github.com/rostools/git4cats): 🐱 Git for Collaborative Teams: An introductory workshop on using Git and GitHub for team-based collaborative workflows and practices |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Workshop: Introduction to building research software using Python as a solo developer in research environments. |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Workshop: Iterative project management and development for effective collaboration and work. |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | [`rostools/r-pkg-intro`](https://github.com/rostools/r-pkg-intro): Build research software using R as a solo developer in research environments. |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Course: Building research software using Python in a team setting. |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Workshop: Building research software using Python in a team setting. |

: "Wishlist" of learning-type documentation products we are currently
working on, will work on, or hope to work on.
: "Wishlist" of learning-type documentation products.

#### How-to guides

Expand All @@ -146,8 +129,7 @@ user manuals.
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Building DataOps pipelines and infrastructure for improving research data quality and reduce time from collection to analysis. |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Integrating research operations in organizations to improve quality and speed up research. |

: "Wishlist" of goal-type documentation products we are currently
working on, will work on, or hope to work on.
: "Wishlist" of goal-type documentation products.

#### Reference

Expand All @@ -167,14 +149,14 @@ products are all classified as "ongoing".

| Status | Information resource |
|:--------------------------------------------:|:-------------------------|
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/reference`](https://sprout.seedcase-project.org/docs/reference/): Reference docs for Sprout. |
Copy link
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

I think including each guide, explanation, and reference page for each software is overkill here. Instead we could state in the starting section of the doc section that each software has or will aim to have each of diataxis sections.

Plus, the repo would be seedcase-project/seedcase-sprout, not reference

Copy link
Member Author

@signekb signekb May 28, 2025 •
edited
Loading

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Yeah, maybe you're right. I thought it was deliberate to very explicitly show the work that goes into that.
But I'll add a text and remove it here 👍

Copy link
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Though I guess we do have the link to the guides above. If you match the text for that here, for the reference docs, that would be fine with me 👍

Copy link
Member Author

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

If I understood you correctly here, it was fine to just fix the link above but keep it?

| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/design`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/design): Overall architectural design documentation for Seedcase software. |
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/team`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/team): Documentation specific to the Seedcase team, like onboarding, common configuration files, and meeting agendas and minutes. |
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/community`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/community): Content for community building, outreach, and contributing guidelines for the Seedcase Project. |
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/seedcase-website`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/seedcase-website): Main website for the Seedcase Project. |
| {{< var status.ongoing >}} | [`seedcase-project/examples`](https://github.com/seedcase-project/examples): Practical examples of how to use Seedcase software to structure datasets and prepare them to be used by others. All data is either fake, synthetically generated, or completely open. |

: "Wishlist" of informational-type documentation products we are
currently working on, will work on, or hope to work on.
: "Wishlist" of informational-type documentation products.

#### Explanation

Expand All @@ -192,8 +174,7 @@ pieces, and outreach materials.
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Research data engineering: What is it and why is it vital for modern research? |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Challenges and barriers: Workflows and digital infrastructure for building software in a team-based research environment. |

: "Wishlist" of explanation-type documentation products we are currently
working on, will work on, or hope to work on.
: "Wishlist" of explanation-type documentation products.

::: content-hidden
| Status | Deliverable |
Expand All @@ -206,9 +187,8 @@ working on, will work on, or hope to work on.

### Outreach and events

These are activities that would involve engaging with the research
community, mainly through in-person seminars, symposiums, or other
events.
These are activities involves engaging with the research community,
mainly through in-person seminars, symposiums, or other events.

::: callout-note
Given the expertise and resources needed for these types of "products"
Expand All @@ -223,8 +203,7 @@ research community about the various topics we work on and advocate for.
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Seminar series: Unmet needs for research data engineering and current challenges in implementation |
| {{< var status.potential >}} | Symposium: Current state of data engineering in research environment |

: "Wishlist" of outreach event "products" we are currently working on,
will work on, or hope to work on.
: "Wishlist" of outreach event "products".

## Collaborations and users

Expand Down