The impacts of collaborative software development between eResearch and the Australian Rivers Institute
Isaac Jennings1, Jan Hettenhausen2, Jagriti Tiwari3 1Griffith University / QCIF Queensland, Australia2Griffith University Queensland , Australia3Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University Queensland, Australia
Abstract
The Building Catchment Resilience (BCR) project was established by Griffith University’s (GU) Australian Rivers Institute (ARI) to address challenges in decision making related to effective investment in river and catchment rehabilitation. The project aimed to present optionality to industry and government stakeholders when exploring rehabilitation actions to reduce erosion, minimise flood risk, and improve biodiversity. Equipped with the outputs of a multi-objective simulated annealing model, the ARI partnered with GU eResearch to collaboratively develop a visualisation to represent model outputs; facilitating data exploration and confidence building between the ARI, potential investors, and community stakeholders.
During the initial stages of the project, cross-pollination of knowledge occurred between the ARI and GU eResearch teams. ARI subject matter experts detailed domain-specific information to eResearch, contextualising the problem. Whilst eResearch advised in the development of a minimum-viable product (MVP). Over 8 weeks, the dashboard was developed using an iterative approach. Collaboration was a key enabler in this project, with feedback loops established and maintained to ensure tightknit work between ARI and eResearch. This prevented scope creep, and ensured the goals of a MVP were met in preparation for an upcoming steering committee meeting.
The resultant browser-based dashboard is a comprehensive interface developed with user-experience in mind. Incorporating geospatial data, multi-objective optimisation modelling, and contemporary web development frameworks, the dashboard had a positive and profound impact with BCR Steering Committee members. Development of the dashboard is ongoing, with renewed interest from stakeholders and investors, following the successful demonstration of the dashboard MVP to project members.
Biography
Jagriti Tiwari is currently working with the Australian Rivers Institute to develop decision support tools for spatial planning of rivers and catchment rehabilitation to help protect the freshwater ecosystem. Her expertise and experiences lies in geospatial modeling and surface water hydrology.
Isaac Jennings is the QCIF eResearch Analyst at Griffith University. He is responsible for researcher digital skills training and eResearch related advisory. His expertise and interests lie in machine learning, data visualisation and adult learning and development.