A new preprint, 10 quick tips for making your software outlive your job, offers essential guidance for researchers and developers concerned with the longevity of their software projects. The paper addresses a pervasive challenge in academic and research environments: how to ensure valuable software tools remain functional and accessible after their original creators move on to new positions or projects. The guide is particularly timely as shifts in funding and organizational priorities are potentially impacting the continuity of valuable software resources.
Each tip comes with concrete implementation steps, making the resource immediately useful for research software practitioners at any career stage.
The preprint informs the work of the Succession Planning for Research Software Task Force, co-run by CURIOSS and ReSA, which aims to develop a best practices guide for responsibly wrapping up research code when individuals leave their institutions. Drawing on the preprint’s findings, the task force will address common challenges faced across the international research software community. By gathering community feedback and creating an easy-to-use checklist based on the preprint’s recommendations, the group seeks to support sustainable transitions and long-term preservation of software projects. Outputs will include a GitHub repository or Jupyter Notebook and markdown-based checklists, all shared under a CC-BY 4.0 license.
To find out more about the task force, contact richard.littauer@gmail.com.
Acknowledgements
10 quick tips for making your software outlive your job was developed through an extensive collaborative process. Many thanks to Bill Branan, Chang Liao, Christoph Treude, Clare Dillon, Daniel Morillo-Cuadrado, Daniel R. McCloy, Daniel S. Katz, David Eyers, David Lippert, David Pérez-Suárez, Elena Findley-de Regt, Eman Abdullah AlOmar, Ethan P. White, Fang Liu, Geoffrey Lentner, Georg Link, Greg Wilson, Ian McInerney, Jan Ainali, Jonathan Guyer, Jouni Helske, Kaylea Champion, Kris Bubendorfer, Mala Kumar, Mohamed Wiem Mkaouer, Paola Corrales, Phani Velicheti, Pierre Marshall, Pieter Huybrechts, Priyanka Ojha, Sam Cunliffe, Sylwester Arabas, Tobias Augspurger, Tommy Guy, and Yanina Bellini Saibene for their contributions. A special thanks also goes to CURIOSS team member, Richard Littauer for leading the process from concept to completion.