Tickets
In a traditional university course, you attend a lecture to be introduced to a topic, and then you go home to practice it. In professional Research Software Engineering (RSE), this model is inverted. You do not show up to a technical planning meeting expecting to be taught the basics of the architecture; you are expected to have read the documentation before you walk through the door so that the meeting time can be spent building, debugging, and deciding.
This course operates on that professional cadence. We do not use valuable class time for passive listening or syntax lectures. Our synchronous sessions are high-intensity “Code-Alongs” and “Sprints” where we build software together in real-time. Because of this, you cannot participate effectively if you have not set up your environment or learned the core concepts beforehand.
The Workflow
To ensure everyone enters the room ready to contribute, we utilize Tickets. These are weekly asynchronous modules that serve as your “entry ticket” to the Wednesday sync session.
- The Technical Brief is released eight days before class (Tuesday). This document replaces the traditional textbook or video lecture. It is written as a technical specification that details the concepts and the commands you will need.
- At the end of the brief, you will find a small, verifiable technical challenge. This is not a massive project; it is a “Proof of Life” check. It might ask you to install a specific tool, generate a plot, or push a file to GitHub.
- You must submit the requested evidence (a screenshot, a file path, or a commit hash) to Canvas by Tuesday at 11:59 PM.
Grading & Expectations
Tickets are valued at 10% of your total grade. They are generally graded on a completion basis: Did you complete the pre-work sufficiently to participate in the class?
If you fail to complete a ticket, you are technically allowed to attend class, but you will likely spend the entire session strictly observing. We move fast during the “Code-Along” blocks (0:20–0:50). If you are struggling to install the software while the rest of the team is already deploying the pipeline, you will be left behind. Treat these tickets as mandatory professional preparation.