EOSC Task Force on Infrastructure for Quality Research Software: Research Software Lifecycle

Software developed in the process of doing research is receiving increased attention. It is now more and more often considered a genuine research output next to scientific articles and research data publications. Based on representative user stories we identify and characterize the different phases and stages that the research software development process can go through thereby defining the “Research Software Lifecycle”. Different approaches to software development such as product-, project- or platform-orientation are also outlined. We close with recommendations on EOSC infrastructure components needed to support the identified processes and platforms.