Abstract
As a pervasive tool in scientific work, research software is critical to the advancement of knowledge and a fundamental influence on researchers’ day-to-day lives. Thus, usability is key to ensuring efficient scientific progress and satisfaction among software users. This affinity group will discuss material and provocations from US-RSE’25 that relate to user experiences for research software, including strategies for designing and implementing them, issues they face, and ways they have been evaluated. We will apply a human-centered perspective to the conference, foregrounding the social aspects of research software use and development. Together, we will discuss trends in the ways scientific user experiences are crafted and assessed, as well as opportunities to support that work.
Group Leader
Hannah Cohoon
Biography
Hannah Cohoon is a UX Researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She studies scientific software development, seeking to create more rewarding and impactful careers for RSEs and more efficient and enjoyable experiences for users. She has focused on studying and facilitating open source development and open science practices. Hannah received her PhD in Information Science from UT Austin in 2022 and BA in Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia in 2013. Hannah is presently co-chair of the US-RSE UX working group.
Motivation
Increasing the visibility of user research and UX work for science is a priority of mine as a co-chair for the UX working group. Leading this GAG is an opportunity to meet newcomers to the RSE space and to invite them to join our working group. I am interested in the fresh perspective the students will bring and I’m curious to hear what stands out to them as interesting and what they view as missing from the conference. Additionally, I have personally benefited from having a mentor assigned to me at conferences and workshops and would be happy to pay that forward in a small way.