After its inauguration and the formal completion of the construction phase, the software development effort at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) continues at roughly the same level as during construction – gradually adding capabilities as required by and offered to the scientific community. In the run-up to a new yearly Observing Cycle several software releases have to be prepared, incorporating this new functionality. However, the ALMA observatory is used on a daily basis to produce scientific data for the approved projects within the current Observing Cycle, and also by engineering teams to extend existing capabilities or to diagnose and fix problems – so the preparation of new software releases up to their deployment competes for resources with all other activities. Testing a new release and ensuring its quality is of course fundamental, but can on the other hand not monopolize the observatory's resources or jeopardize its commitments to the scientific community.

Date Published: 8 August 2016
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 9911, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy VII, 99110R (8 August 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2232647

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9911:
Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy VII
George Z. Angeli; Philippe Dierickx, Editor(s)