Working with us-things to know
Read the below to gain an understanding of what we need from you, and what you can expect from us.
Before your project has started...
- We expect to be informed of, and involved with, setting out the minimum requirements for a project before that project begins.
- Involving us at the planning stage means we can help determine technical feasibility and identify any potential issues
- We expect full disclosure about stakeholders, timelines and overall project goals - if we are not aware of the full scope and aims of a project, we will not be able to guarantee delivery of a product that satisfies the actual project requirements.
- We expect project start and end dates to be communicated ahead of time - where possible we will endeavour to meet your ideal start dates and timelines, but this will be subject to RSE availability.
Once you are working with us...
- We expect delivery of items critical to the project in good time, for example:
- Data needed for systems, running/ testing models or pipelines
- Underlying models need to be supplied in enough time to integrate them with software being developed
- Access to any required system
- Each project will have a senior RSE attached who will be the first point of contact for any issues you might have with the RSE working for your project. We ask that you contact the senior RSE as soon as is possible if you have any issues so that they can be resolved before there is any impact on your project delivery.
- Maintaining open lines of clear communication is crucial for the success of a project. We expect a minimum level of engagement and responsiveness from the project team and relevant stakeholders. Lack of communication may jeopardise the satisfactory delivery of the product.
- We are experts in our domain and expect to be treated as collaborators. Projects benefit from fully involving us in conversations about the direction and purpose of the software needed.
- Research software, like any research, is subject to unforeseen challenges. In all situations, we will strive to deliver working end products to a high standard; however, there is always the possibility of unknown issues arising and preventing the delivery of a final working product.
What we expect financially...
- We expect payment in good time for services delivered, and to be informed if there are any financial issues as soon as PIs are made aware of them so we can work together to re-scope or find alternative solutions.
- We don't charge for work that we don't do – if we complete work in less than the budgeted time, we will only charge for the time we spent on the project.
- We can't accept unilateral cancellation of work without prior discussion, as we plan financially based on the projected project development time. If you have issues which may lead to cessation of RSE work, we ask that you contact us as soon as possible so that we can work together to find an acceptable resolution.
- Our day rate is subject to inflation and is reevaluated every February. Our updated rate is generally below inflation, and the changing rate is usually covered by funding bodies. Check with your financial officer for more details on this.
- As a team we are expected to fully cost recover for our time. While we will do our best effort to fix any critical bugs post-project end, we cannot guarantee any RSE time for your project when there is no budget allocated to support additional days.
Visit our office
We're located in the Catalyst Building on the Helix site in the centre of Newcastle.
