Welcome to the NCSA/BioCADDIE project. Working on this project will require you to fit in to our development process, which includes:

• Agile/Scrum methodology using the NCSA OpenSource Atlassian tools (JIRA/Confluence)
• Git/Github for source code management using a "forking workflow"
• JIRA for task/sprint management
• Confluence for project documentation
• Slack for real-time chatting
• SDSC Cloud  (OpenStack) for cloud computing resources

Create accounts:

The first step is to create accounts on each of the following systems. Send your username for each system to be added to the BioCADDIE projects.

• NCSA OpenSource: https://opensource.ncsa.illinois.edu
• Github: https://github.com/
• Dockerhub: https://hub.docker.com/

Agile/Scrum:

We use an Agile/Scrum method for project management.  In short this means:

• We plan work in 2-week intervals (sprints)
• For each sprint, you "commit" to the work you will complete during the 2-week cycle. This requires estimating the amount of time each task will take you and ensuring that you understand the scope of the task you will be working one.
• Sprints and the backlog of tasks are managed in JIRA.  For each sprint, you will move your tasks from TODO > In progress > Review > Done
• We have weekly meetings on Tuesdays from 3-4pm.

Github/Git:

We use Github for source code management. The primary repository is https://github.com/nds-org/biocaddie. We use a forking workflow with feature branches.  In short, this means:

• Create a fork of the primary repository
• For each task or set of tasks, create a branch in your local repository.  
• Make changes to your branch and push to your repository on Github
• When the work is complete, create a pull request for the primary repository.
• Once your pull request is reviewed and approved by another team member, it will be merged.

For more information, see the NDS Developer Workflows.

JIRA

We use JIRA for task management.   In short this means:

• Tasks are created and added to the NDS project backlog. BioCADDIE tasks should all have the "BioCADDIE" label.
• Tasks are assigned to team member during sprint planning. Tasks should have clear completion criteria so you know how to estimate them and when they are done.
• Team members are responsible for updating tasks through comments and changing status.
• In general, tasks will go from "Open" to "In progress" (start working) to "In Review" to "Done" (closed).
  
  • Tickets must be assigned to another team member for review prior to closing.
• Tickets are created and assigned for each sprint.  Feel free to create new tickets to add to the project backlog.

For more information see the NDS JIRA Workflows.

Confluence

We use Confluence for project documentation.  Our main page is the BioCADDIE page, and we should create subpages from there.

Slack

We are part of the National Data Service team at NCSA and use the https://nationaldataservice.slack.com/ #biocaddie channel for project communication.

• Install the Slack client or use the web interface
• Sign up for the https://nationaldataservice.slack.com/ project
• Subscribe to the #biocaddie channel

Cloud computing resources

We have a small allocation of cloud computing resources available via SDSC Cloud. You will be provided with access to one or more virtual machines for your work.