Fiji Software Sustainability

斐济软体可持续性（FiSS）计划的目标，是将开放原始码的斐济生物影像分析研究平台提升至新的成熟水平，为科学界持续提供这一重要软体铺平道路。我们将利用斐济在全球生命科学研究人员中前所未有的使用水平，以及斐济开源社区在其存在的第一个十年中所建立的现有基础设施基础。具体来说，我们将追求三个工作包（WPs），旨在加强斐济软件生态系统中目前需要调整和质量改进的领域。在WP1中，我们将扩展现有的并建立新的最先进的软件工程基础设施，用于斐济的开发、提供和传播。这些现代实践将使这个重要平台的开发人员和用户都受益。在WP2中，我们将开发多维数据可视化和大图像数据处理方面的新功能，消除已知的使用障碍。这可能会进一步增强斐济平台的吸引力，特别是对于面临新的生物图像分析挑战的用户，这些挑战是由最近显微镜数据的爆炸式增长带来的。WP3将通过提供结构化教育、文件、问题解决和其他社区服务来提高斐济体验的质量。这将与WP1和WP2相结合，形成一个整体上更稳定、得到更好支持、更可行的研究软件。我们相信，1)考虑到斐济社区的规模和目前开发商面临的问题的严重性，这些措施是合适和必要的；2)雇用两名维护者致力于实施这一议程将充分解决这一问题；3)在实施WPs过程中所获得的改进、调整和经验将为建立斐济长期可持续运作的模式奠定必要的基础。我们讨论了未来财务规划和可持续性概念实施的几个场景。至关重要的是，这涉及将斐济平台锚定在MPI-CBG经过时间考验和成功的研究服务和设施系统中。斐济是一个影响全球的大型软件生态系统，因此可以作为一个理想的软件基础设施模型，在此基础上可以记录长期可持续提供研究软件的挑战和解决方案。通过这项资助建立稳定斐济平台的最佳实践，我们将为其他科学软件开发项目树立榜样并发出积极的信号。

The goal of the Fiji Software Sustainability (FiSS) project is to elevate the open source Fiji platform for research in biological image analysis to a new level of maturity that will pave the way towards sustainable provision of this crucial software to the scientific community. We will build on the unprecedented level of Fiji usage among life science researchers worldwide and the existing infrastructural groundwork assembled by the Fiji open source community over the first decade of its existence. Specifically, we will pursue three Work Packages (WPs) aiming at enhancing the areas of the Fiji software ecosystem where the current status quo requires adjustments and quality improvement.1. In WP1 we will extend existing and establish new state-of-the-art Software Engineering Infrastructure for the development, provision and dissemination of Fiji. These modern practices will benefit both developers and users of this important platform.2. In WP2 we will develop novel capabilities in multidimensional data visualization and Big Image Data processing removing known usage barriers. This will likely further enhance the appeal of the Fiji platform, in particular for users facing new bioimage analysis challenges posed by recent explosive data growth in microscopy.3. WP3 will increase the quality of the Fiji experience by providing structured education, documentation, issue resolution and other community services. This will, in conjunction with WP1 and WP2, lead to an overall more stable and better supported, more viable research software.We believe, that 1) these measures are suitable and necessary given the size of the Fiji community and the magnitude of the problem being faced by its current developers, 2) that hiring two maintainers dedicated to implement this agenda will address it sufficiently and 3) that the improvement, adjustments and experiences gained during implementation of the WPs will form the necessary groundwork for establishing models of Fiji sustainability for long term operation. We discuss several scenarios for the future financial planning and implementation of a sustainability concept. This involves, crucially, the anchoring of the Fiji platform in the time tested and successful research Services and Facilities system of MPI-CBG.Fiji is a large software ecosystem with worldwide impact and thus serves as an ideal model software infrastructure on which the challenges and solutions for long term sustainable provision of research software can be documented. By establishing the best practices that stabilize the Fiji platform through this grant we shall set an example and send a positive signal for other scientific software development projects.