From: "Martin Morgan" <mtmorgan at fredhutch.org>
To: bioc-devel at r-project.org
Sent: Saturday, May 9, 2015 10:15:13 AM
Subject: [Bioc-devel] Use and Usability metrics / shields
Bioc developers!
It's important that our users be able to identify packages that are
suitable for
their research question. Obviously a first step is to identify
packages in the
appropriate research domain, for instance through biocViews.
http://bioconductor.org/packages/release/
We'd like to help users further prioritize their efforts by
summarizing use and
usability. Metrics include:
- Cross-platform availability -- biocLite()-able from all or only
some platforms
- Support forum activity -- questions and comments / responses, 6
month window
- Download percentile -- top 5, 20, 50%, or 'available'
- Current build status -- errors or warnings on some or all platforms
- Developer activity -- commits in the last 6 months
- Historical presence -- years in Bioconductor
Obviously the metrics are imperfect, so constructive feedback welcome
-- we
think the above capture in a more-or-less objective and computable
way the major
axes influencing use and usability.
We initially intend to prominently display 'shields' (small graphical
icons) on
package landing pages.