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1 | 1 | --- |
2 | | -title: The Rollercoaster Ride of Building Rerum Playground |
3 | | -description: A reflection on my experience as the tech lead for the **RERUM Playground** project, discussing the challenges faced, key learnings, and the collaborative nature of open-source development. |
| 2 | +title: Celebrating Milestones in the Rerum Playground Project |
| 3 | +description: A reflection on my experience as the tech lead for the **RERUM Playground** project. |
4 | 4 | slug: blog_rerum_playground |
5 | 5 | authors: [Lalith Adithya Reddy Avuthu] |
6 | 6 | tags: [open source, teamwork, project development, coding journey] |
7 | 7 | hide_table_of_contents: false |
8 | 8 | --- |
9 | 9 |
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10 | | -Ever found yourself working on a project where each sprint feels like a thrill ride? One moment you're coasting, everything is smooth, and the next—you’re hit with a challenge that turns the ride upside down. That’s been my journey as the tech lead for **Rerum Playground**—a project where each line of code has its own story, and every challenge is an opportunity to grow and collaborate. |
| 10 | +The *Rerum Playground* project, part of the Open Source with SLU initiative, recently reached several key milestones, marking its evolution as a valuable tool for researchers and educators. Through collaborative efforts and consistent development, the project is now positioned to impact both academic research and practical applications in open-source software. |
11 | 11 |
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12 | | -Welcome to the highs, the lows, and the unexpected loops of building something from the ground up with an amazing team! |
| 12 | +## Project Overview |
13 | 13 |
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14 | | -<!--truncate--> |
| 14 | +The *Rerum Playground* is designed to foster interactive learning and development for research software tools. It provides a testing environment where users can experiment with a range of open-source tools, helping researchers engage with computational methods without the complexity of setting up dedicated environments. This platform is built with an emphasis on ease of use, flexibility, and scalability, ensuring it meets the diverse needs of researchers and educators in the digital humanities, scientific computing, and other fields. |
15 | 15 |
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16 | | -## What is Rerum Playground? |
| 16 | +## Recent Milestones |
17 | 17 |
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18 | | -Rerum Playground isn't just another tech project—it's a platform that aims to bridge the gap between cutting-edge tools and users who need them the most. Think of it as a digital workshop where tools come together to enhance the user experience, making complex tasks feel simple and intuitive. As a tech lead, I’ve had the chance to steer this ship, guiding my team through coding sprints, feature rollouts, and unexpected bugs. |
| 18 | +### **Enhanced User Interface and New Features** |
| 19 | +The user interface has undergone several refinements, making it more intuitive for first-time users and experienced researchers alike. Key features like the **tool selection UI**, **error handling for invalid manifests**, and **manifest metadata display** were improved based on user feedback. These updates ensure that *Rerum Playground* delivers both functionality and ease of access, creating a user-friendly experience that encourages experimentation and learning. |
19 | 20 |
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20 | | -But like any project, the road has been far from smooth, and that’s where the fun began. |
| 21 | +### **Collaboration with Research Communities** |
| 22 | +Collaboration has been at the heart of the *Rerum Playground* project. The development team actively engages with open-source communities, academic researchers, and students from Saint Louis University to drive the project forward. Recent collaborative efforts have resulted in the addition of new tools, including the **Mirador** and **Universal Viewer**, which enhance the platform's capabilities in data visualization and analysis. These tools are critical for researchers seeking to analyze large manifests and visualize complex information. |
21 | 23 |
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22 | | -## The Beginning: From Vision to Action |
| 24 | +### **Community Engagement and Open Source Contributions** |
| 25 | +One of the project’s highlights is the active contribution from the broader open-source community. The project has received several contributions from external developers and students, which has accelerated feature development and bug fixing. Notably, improvements in tool sorting behavior were completed in recent sprints, driven by the collaborative efforts of the team and contributors. |
23 | 26 |
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24 | | -The initial stages of the project were filled with brainstorming, excitement, and of course, a lot of coding. We started by refining the vision of **Rerum Playground**—a platform that would host a suite of tools, giving users a seamless experience to use them. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, the devil is always in the details. |
| 27 | +### **Upcoming Features and Future Plans** |
| 28 | +The *Rerum Playground* project continues to evolve. Plans are in place to integrate additional features, including the **Manifest Editor** and advanced tools for intigration. These upcoming features will further streamline the research process for users, allowing them to manage data and results more effectively. The development team remains committed to delivering a platform that adapts to the changing needs of the academic community. |
25 | 29 |
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26 | | -Our first major challenge was **tool selection**. What makes a good tool? How do we integrate it into a cohesive platform without overwhelming the user? The team and I worked together to define what "user-friendly" truly meant for this project. We carefully picked tools that were both powerful and easy to use, then designed an interface that would allow users to navigate them effortlessly. |
| 30 | +## Impact on Research and Education |
27 | 31 |
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28 | | -### Lesson #1: Collaboration Is Key |
| 32 | +The *Rerum Playground* is not just a tool but an enabler of academic progress. By simplifying the integration of complex research tools, it lowers the barrier to entry for academic researchers, particularly those in fields with limited access to specialized software. The platform also promotes **interdisciplinary collaboration**, as users from various research domains can easily share tools, resources, and methodologies. |
29 | 33 |
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30 | | -Right from the start, one of the biggest lessons I learned was the importance of teamwork. Every idea, every suggestion, and every feedback session turned out to be a small step toward the project’s success. |
| 34 | +In the long term, **Rerum Playground** has the potential to support **teaching initiatives**, making it an invaluable resource for university professors and instructors. The platform can serve as a hands-on environment for students to experiment with computational research, gaining experience with real-world tools in an academic setting. |
31 | 35 |
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32 | | -One particular moment that stands out was during a sprint when the team hit a roadblock with the **tool selection UI**. We had multiple iterations, and the design just wasn’t clicking. Instead of getting stuck, we turned to each other for ideas. We broke down the problem, brainstormed, and finally came up with a layout that made sense for our users. It was teamwork at its best—each person contributed something unique, and together, we overcame the hurdle. |
| 36 | +## Moving Forward |
33 | 37 |
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34 | | -## The Bug Hunt: Debugging and Sprinting |
| 38 | +As the project matures, the **Rerum Playground** team is focusing on expanding its user base, strengthening its community, and exploring new avenues for funding and collaboration. The next steps involve scaling the platform to Manifest Editor as well as saving the work to a database by using TinyNode, integrating more tools from external contributors, and continuing to improve the user experience based on feedback from researchers and educators. |
35 | 39 |
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36 | | -No open-source project is complete without its fair share of bugs, and **Rerum Playground** was no exception. One of our most challenging moments involved an issue with **tool sorting**. The tools just weren’t showing up in the correct order—simple, right? But fixing this bug meant diving deep into the sorting logic and refactoring how we stored user preferences. |
37 | | - |
38 | | -I remember the tension during one sprint when the issue seemed never-ending. We tried everything—from checking the backend logic to adjusting the front-end components. It felt like the tools were playing hide and seek with us. But after hours of debugging, we finally nailed it! The tools appeared in the right order, and the bug was squashed. It was a moment of triumph—and relief—for the whole team. |
39 | | - |
40 | | -### Lesson #2: Embrace the Challenge |
41 | | - |
42 | | -As tech lead, I learned the importance of staying calm under pressure. Problems will arise, bugs will sneak in, and things will go wrong. But rather than being discouraged, we learned to embrace each challenge as an opportunity to improve, adapt, and evolve. |
43 | | - |
44 | | -## Design and Refinement: UI/UX Matters |
45 | | - |
46 | | -When we weren’t chasing down bugs, we were focusing on the user interface. **UI/UX** was crucial for the success of **Rerum Playground**, and designing it was an intricate balance between functionality and aesthetics. |
47 | | - |
48 | | -Our goal was to create an interface that didn’t just look good, but also felt intuitive. We spent countless hours tweaking button placements, adjusting colors, and ensuring that the tools were easy to access. A particularly memorable feature we implemented was the **most recently used tools** feature, which allowed users to quickly return to their favorite tools without hassle. This small change made a huge difference in how users interacted with the platform, and it was incredibly satisfying to see it come together. |
49 | | - |
50 | | -## Teamwork Through the Sprints |
51 | | - |
52 | | -Another key element of our success was the **team dynamic**. Working on an open-source project is like being on a team of explorers—you need to support each other, trust each other, and work toward a common goal. Every sprint we had gave us a chance to evaluate our progress, identify new challenges, and refine our processes. Sprint retrospectives became our moment to celebrate what went well, laugh about our mistakes, and plan for the road ahead. |
53 | | - |
54 | | -## Reflecting on the Journey |
55 | | - |
56 | | -Looking back, it’s been a rollercoaster. From overcoming technical hurdles to celebrating small wins, the journey of building **Rerum Playground** has been as much about personal growth as it has been about coding. I've learned that leadership isn't just about directing the team; it's about listening, adapting, and fostering an environment where everyone can thrive. |
57 | | - |
58 | | -As we continue to refine **Rerum Playground**, I’m excited for what’s next. There are still bugs to fix, features to add, and improvements to make, but that’s the beauty of open source—there’s always room for more hands, more ideas, and more growth. |
59 | | - |
60 | | -## Where to Next? |
61 | | - |
62 | | -So, where do we go from here? The journey isn't over. We’re continuously improving **Rerum Playground** and listening to feedback from users and contributors alike. If you want to join the fun or contribute to the project, the **GitHub repository** is always open to new ideas, bug fixes, or even just a friendly chat. Together, we can make **Rerum Playground** a tool that helps users get the most out of their digital workspace. |
63 | | - |
64 | | -If you’ve learned anything from my rollercoaster ride, I hope it’s this: **open-source development is a journey, not a destination.** And no matter how many bugs you fix or features you roll out, the most important thing is to enjoy the ride—and the team you’re riding it with! |
| 40 | +We invite other academics and developers to contribute to the project, ensuring it continues to evolve as a valuable resource for the research community. |
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