Rapid TIMES model development using git, agile and dashboards: reflections and lessons learnt from TIM development. Dr. Olexandr Balyk, University College Cork

1. Rapid TIMES model development using git, agile and dashboards:
reflections and lessons learnt from TIM development
ETSAP Workshop, 18th June 2021
Olexandr Balyk

2. Overview
• How to collaborate on a model efficiently?
• How to get the model ready?
• How to debug / analyse results efficiently?

3. TIMES-Ireland Model (TIM)
Download draft documentation paper: https://tim-review1.netlify.app/documentation/tim-documentation-paper.pdf
Successor to the Irish TIMES model
Flexible spatial and temporal
resolution by design
• national or county level
• customisable timeslice resolution
Quality control through an external
stakeholder review
Will be available open source
together with a documentation
paper

4. ❖ Dr. Hannah Daly
• Lecturer in Energy Systems Modelling, UCC & Funded Investigator, MaREI
• Co-PI CAPACITY project, PI/Supervisor of CCAC Carbon Budget Fellowship
❖ Dr. Olexandr Balyk
• Senior postdoctoral researcher, CAPACITY project - Model coordination & integration
❖ Jason McGuire
• PhD researcher with CAPACITY project – residential sector
❖ Andrew Smith
• Climate Change Advisory Council & EPA Fellowship on Carbon Budgets
❖ Dr. James Glynn
• Former Research Fellow & lead CHIMERA project
❖ Vahid Aryanpur
• PhD researcher with CHIMERA project – transport sector
❖ Dr. Xiufeng Yue
• Former postdoc, CHIMERA project, lecturer Dalian University of Technology
❖ Ankita Gaur
• MaREI PhD researcher – energy demand drivers
TIM development team
With support and input from wider Energy Policy & Modelling Group at UCC & E4SMA
Prof. Brian O’Gallachoir
Dr. Shane McDonagh
Vera O’Riordan
Dr. Fionn Rogan
Dr. Paul Deane
Dr. Alessandro Chiodi
Maurizio Gargiulo

5. Efficient collaboration
Several TIMES model developers, working in parallel, each responsible
for a sector… How do you:
• Ensure that the combined model is working?
• Catch inconsistencies?
• Allow for autonomy?
• Know where to find the latest model?

6. Efficient collaboration: git
• Branch-based workflow allows
for autonomy
• Merging to the main branch is a
good time for testing
• History log and gitdiff help
identify differences between
versions and reasons for them
• Tools like Spreadsheet Compare
shows differences between excel
files

7. Version comparison

8. Getting the model ready
The model is almost ready… It has been that for some time now… How
do you:
• Make that last push to get the model ready?

9. Getting the model ready
Switching from the waterfall approach to agile:
• Focusing on getting a “full model” as quickly as possible;
• Improving the model iteratively;
• Using it for analysis meanwhile.
Allows responding to the evolving policy debate more flexibly/quickly

10. Sprints
• Under agile sprints are used to develop a predefined set of
functionality.
• Requires complete dedication of team members during a sprint
• In a sprint, model integration becomes a “fulltime job”
• Regular communication is important
• Sprints tend to be exhausting
• Cannot be too frequent in an academic setting

11. Analysing results
No more dummies… Results for my sector are looking fine… How do
you:
• Make sure that the rest of the model is looking good?
• Quickly get some charts for a presentation?

12. Analysing results: dashboards
Veda tables
csv batch
export
Python /
Pandas
Website
template
Deployment
to a CDN
Example: https://20-05-2021--meet-tim.netlify.app/

13. Dashboards architecture
Browser
CDN
Highlights
• High performance
• Great user experience
• No webserver to maintain
• Security

14. Conclusions
• Git is a great tool for facilitating a TIMES model development
• Dashboards with standard outputs simplify results analysis / model
debugging
• Sprints are great to get model ready

15. v
Thank you!
olexandr.balyk@ucc.ie