Benchmark Projects

Benchmark Projects for the Zooniverse

aka The Northstar Project: a Zooniverse Project for Benchmarking Projects (by the Zooniverse)

aka So You Want to Build a Specific Kind of Zooniverse Project and Need a Template or Example

Benchmark Projects are Zooniverse projects that serve as templates or examples for others of its kind. This document lists all Benchmark Projects, their purpose, their features, and how to create one from scratch.

Currently, this document is written specifically by & for the internal Zooniverse team, but we intend to expand the intended audience to include all project owners & collaborators.

🔐 Note: if you see this lock & key icon, it means that the associated link/resource/etc is only available to Zooniverse team members.

Why Benchmark Projects?

The Zooniverse has a lot of features and a lot of moving parts, and sometimes the more complex project types (e.g. Indexed Transcription-type Projects) require several features or a unique setup to even start working. (e.g. Transcription Tasks, Caesar workflow config, Subject indexing)

• For Zooniverse developers:
  • Benchmark Projects are a great way to test if a feature works (or still works following updates), using actual data.
  • This avoids scenarios where a fancy new feature (FNF) was built for a "real project", and that "real project" gets retired or changed significantly, causing that FNF to be unavailable even for local testing.
• For everyone else: Benchmark Projects are a great way to discover the various features that the Zooniverse has to offer.

Related Documentation:

• 🔐 Experimental Tools

Minimal Project

The Minimal Project™ is the simplest version of a Zooniverse project that makes sense. It contains simple image Subjects, and one Yes/No Question Task.

• View the Project: TODO
• 🔐 Edit the Project: TODO

Also see:

• 🐱 I Fancy Cats, the original Benchmark Project that uses photos of kittens to test various Task types.

Anatomy (aka Making Your Own)

TODO