Theme: Evolution of software development and management
Evolution of Science Data Pipelines: From HST, to JWST, to WFIRST
Large community missions often require complex pipelines to support science calibration and analysis needs. HST, JWST, and WFIRST, are three missions with vastly different requirements that push the idea of how we build and maintain science data pipelines, evolving with both instrumentation and mission requirements, and even longevity. Considered here will be the science data calibration and high-level product generation that is part of the larger workflow of most science centers operating large missions. How analysis pipelines are designed, and their effective validation and maintenance, can often drive whether they can be extended for future missions and shared for use within the community. I will discuss how requirements that drive operational design, and software development and collaboration, are evolving to enable complex, maintainable, extensible and yet still automated systems.
