Slides of a talk given to the RSE community in Manchester, UK, 2017

1. S A D P B
Storytelling for Research Software Engineers
Alban Levy
Septembre 8th 2017

2. Essentials of Storytelling
https://xkcd.com/1190/
1

3. Essentials of Storytelling
1 Keep a story-like structure,
https://xkcd.com/1190/
1

4. Essentials of Storytelling
1 Keep a story-like structure,
2 Adapt to the audience,
https://xkcd.com/1190/
1

5. Essentials of Storytelling
1 Keep a story-like structure,
2 Adapt to the audience,
3 Detail how the issue is solved,
https://xkcd.com/1190/
1

6. Essentials of Storytelling
1 Keep a story-like structure,
2 Adapt to the audience,
3 Detail how the issue is solved,
4 Public speaking skills,
https://xkcd.com/1190/
1

7. Essentials of Storytelling
1 Keep a story-like structure,
2 Adapt to the audience,
3 Detail how the issue is solved,
4 Public speaking skills,
5 Blend in personal elements.
https://xkcd.com/1190/
1

8. 1 Story Structure
Stories have
2

9. 1 Story Structure
Stories have
• an origination,
• an escalation of conflict,
• and a resolution.
2

10. 1 Story Structure
Stories have
• an origination,
• an escalation of conflict,
• and a resolution.
Today’s Story:
2

11. 1 Story Structure
Stories have
• an origination,
• an escalation of conflict,
• and a resolution.
Today’s Story:
• Academic fields used to evolve on their own,
2

12. 1 Story Structure
Stories have
• an origination,
• an escalation of conflict,
• and a resolution.
Today’s Story:
• Academic fields used to evolve on their own,
• Academia is changing,
2

13. 1 Story Structure
Stories have
• an origination,
• an escalation of conflict,
• and a resolution.
Today’s Story:
• Academic fields used to evolve on their own,
• Academia is changing,
• RSEs fill a gap in the new landscape.
2

14. 2 Adapt to the Audience
Layperson
• RSEs improve the quality of the science being produced
• RSEs bring value to their academic environment
3

15. 2 Adapt to the Audience
Layperson
• RSEs improve the quality of the science being produced
• RSEs bring value to their academic environment
Researchers & Supervisors
• Alleviate some of their reviewing or coding work
• Receive more trustworthy results from students
3

16. 2 Adapt to the Audience
Layperson
• RSEs improve the quality of the science being produced
• RSEs bring value to their academic environment
Researchers & Supervisors
• Alleviate some of their reviewing or coding work
• Receive more trustworthy results from students
Deans
• Economic: Time wasted by researchers and students is
money wasted by the university
• Reputation: Adds clear value and attractiveness to labs
3

17. 2 Adapt to the Audience
PhD Students
Speeds up work, increases code quality, receives the benefits of
the RSE toolkit without having to become a coding expert...
4

18. 2 Adapt to the Audience
PhD Students
Speeds up work, increases code quality, receives the benefits of
the RSE toolkit without having to become a coding expert...
4

19. 2 Adapt to the Audience
PhD Students
Speeds up work, increases code quality, receives the benefits of
the RSE toolkit without having to become a coding expert...
Example
Giving a talk about sustainability is going to reach engineers; a
talk about efficient Matlab/Python programming may attract
more relevant students
4

20. 2 Adapt to the Audience
PhD Students
Speeds up work, increases code quality, receives the benefits of
the RSE toolkit without having to become a coding expert...
Example
Giving a talk about sustainability is going to reach engineers; a
talk about efficient Matlab/Python programming may attract
more relevant students
//////////Software////////////////Engineering/////for////////////Scientists → PhD: Matlab Skills
4

21. 2 Adapt to the Audience
Students can be taught your programming philosophy
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22. 2 Adapt to the Audience
Students can be taught your programming philosophy
[...]
“But even the hacker who works alone,” said Master Foo,
“collaborates with others, and must constantly communicate
clearly to them, lest his work become confused and lost.”
“Of what others do you speak?” the Prodigy demanded.
Master Foo said: “All your future selves.”
Upon hearing this, the Prodigy was enlightened.
http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/unix-koans/prodigy.html
5

23. 2 Adapt to the Audience
Students can be taught your programming philosophy
[...]
“But even the hacker who works alone,” said Master Foo,
“collaborates with others, and must constantly communicate
clearly to them, lest his work become confused and lost.”
“Of what others do you speak?” the Prodigy demanded.
Master Foo said: “All your future selves.”
Upon hearing this, the Prodigy was enlightened.
http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/unix-koans/prodigy.html
Better practices follow deeper insight
5

24. 3 Detail how the issue is solved
The issue:
Software is fundamental to research, but not all researchers can
become skilled software engineers. http://rse.ac.uk/who/
The resolution:
Supervision of coding aspect of research by RSEs, who combine
an intricate understanding of research with expertise in
programming and software engineering.
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25. 3 Detail how the issue is solved
This new and growing community
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26. 3 Detail how the issue is solved
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27. 3 Detail how the issue is solved
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28. 3 Traditional PhD Workflow
Supervisor PhD
Task
Results
Work
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29. 3 Computational PhD Workflow: New Landscape
Supervisor PhD RSE
Task
Results
Work
Code
Guidance
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30. 4 Public speaking skills...
... are essential to carry a strong message
Enunciation, pitch, being engaging, touch of humour, grabbing
attention, positivity, practice, enthusiasm, getting feedback...
Plenty of coaches and online help
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31. 4 Public speaking skills...
... are essential to carry a strong message
Enunciation, pitch, being engaging, touch of humour, grabbing
attention, positivity, practice, enthusiasm, getting feedback...
Plenty of coaches and online help
Minimal take-home message:
Take your time when talking
9

32. 5 Blend in personal elements
Personal stories are what the audience remembers best.
Sprinkle your message with relevant memorable elements.
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33. 5 Blend in personal elements
Personal stories are what the audience remembers best.
Sprinkle your message with relevant memorable elements.
Example
When was the last time you saw a colleague working in a
(possibly very) sub-optimal way?
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34. 5 Blend in personal elements
Personal stories are what the audience remembers best.
Sprinkle your message with relevant memorable elements.
Example
When was the last time you saw a colleague working in a
(possibly very) sub-optimal way?
Example
RSEs are typically R-turned-SE; exploit and spread the
programming passion you have
10

35. Tell the story
to RSE-deprived academics or students who have to code a lot.
Ask them to spread the word to their supervisor if they
think it would be valuable.
A community spreading the word efficiently grows quicker.
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36. Tell the story
to RSE-deprived academics or students who have to code a lot.
Ask them to spread the word to their supervisor if they
think it would be valuable.
A community spreading the word efficiently grows quicker.
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37. After the story
Follow-up embracing the good practices you share
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38. After the story
Follow-up embracing the good practices you share
Suggestions:
• Enforce student-based code review,
• Print and have students reading Wilson et al. 2014
“Best Practices for Scientific Computing”,
• Encourage asking for feedback
(fastest way to improve),
• Give SE points about their code
(ex: ‘Your commenting is a 10, but modularity is a 2’).
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39. Essentials of Storytelling
1 Keep a story-like structure,
2 Adapt to the audience,
3 Detail how the issue is solved,
4 Public speaking skills,
5 Blend in personal elements.
https://xkcd.com/1190/
13

40. Essentials of Storytelling
1 Keep a story-like structure,
2 Adapt to the audience,
3 Detail how the issue is solved,
4 Public speaking skills,
5 Blend in personal elements.
https://xkcd.com/1190/
Thank you for your attention
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