Last mile software development: Writing modern software for bench scientists

This is the talk I gave at The Perl Conference 2017.

The talk is available from this repository in four ways:

1. A very well-done video recording (thanks TPC!)
2. My source material, a plain-text Markdown file: slides.md
3. My slides as-presented using a dynamic HTML page: run make and then open http://localhost:12345/index.html?showNotes=1
4. A mediocre PDF conversion of the slides + notes

The bulk of the talk is in my presenter notes (which are also in slides.md), so you'll want to be sure to read those. You can enable those in the interactive slideshow by pressing S.

The talk text and images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

Talk abstract in conference program

This talk will focus on the need for, process of, and impact of developing custom software and data systems for scientists. My aim is to give you a glimpse into the rewarding world of software in science by drawing from concrete examples in own my experience of building systems using Perl, Python, JavaScript, Elm, and many other languages. For over three years now I've been the staff programmer in a biology research lab at the University of Washington, and I'll share what I've learned along the way after making the jump from commercial software development.

Interested in learning more about software in science? This talk is for you!

Do startups excite you? A science research lab has more in common with a startup than you might think!

Enjoy learning new domain knowledge to get your job done? Biology is fascinating and amazing!