Chen Q, Basevi J1, Heerdegen A1, Kaur J1
1The Australian National University, Acton, Australia
Biography:
Qian-Hui Chen is a Research Software Engineer at Australian Earth System Simulator – National Research Infrastructure (ACCESS-NRI). She is one of the core maintainers of Payu, a climate model workflow management tool. With a background in astrophysics and science communication, she focuses on making scientific software more accessible, user-friendly, and reliable.
Abstract:
Payu is a climate model workflow management tool designed for supercomputing environments. It streamlines the entire climate modelling workflow, supporting scientists from cloning model configurations, setting up file paths, to launching simulations with a single command. Payu also provides post-processing capabilities, such as collating tiled outputs into global images. While powerful, Payu can present a steep learning curve for new users.
This talk will explore, from a software engineer’s perspective, how ACCESS-NRI makes Payu more accessible, reliable, and reproducible for climate scientists. The first half of the talk will focus on reducing barriers for new users through (1) clear and easy-to-follow documentation, (2) user-friendly error and warning messages that simplify troubleshooting, and (3) interactive prompts that guide users through model setup step-by-step. The second half illustrates how Payu supports experiment tracking for long-running climate simulations. By monitoring model progress and recording detailed manifests of model configurations and inputs, Payu helps ensure experiments remain traceable and reproducible over time.
Overall, this talk will demonstrate how ACCESS-NRI applies user-focused software engineering practices to improve the usability of research software while maintaining the reproducibility and integrity of scientific experiments.
