Follow-up to SFT Review (2009/2010) Priorities and Organization for 2011 and 2012

Achievements Essentially all HEP software now makes use of ROOT for core software services and data analysis There is excellent agreement between Geant4 simulations and first LHC data Monte Carlo Generator Service is well used and appreciated Software infrastructure services (SPI) test and release >100 software packages used by ALTAS, LHCb and CMS The virtualisation R&D project (CernVM) is becoming generally accepted, in particular the file system 15/10/10 2

Priorities for 2011 and Support the LHC experiments Strengthen contacts with the experiments Adapt support to their needs during data-taking (till end 2012) Address improvements already requested e.g. IO performance, Geant4 hadronic physics etc. Remain sensitive to maintaining stability and performance 2. Improve synergy amongst SFT activities Ensure group meetings and discussions are used to facilitate information exchange and cooperation between all group members SFT projects should standardise on common services and tools for development, building, testing, documenting etc. 15/10/10 3

Priorities for 2011 and Support new approved experiments Dialogue already started with LCD, NA61, and NA62 Define level of support and welcome their participation in the various bodies 4. Continue to prepare for the future Investigate and adapt SFT products to use new technologies Investigate ways of improving functionality and performance in view of meeting longer-term needs 15/10/10 4

Priorities : Main Task Categories 1. Baseline tasks required to keep the current software in production involves responding to day-to-day requests for fixes and improvements 2. Consolidation re-orientation towards using a common infrastructure adapting software to make use of common components (reducing duplications) that will facilitate long-term maintenance 3. Innovation extending the scope and functionality of SFT products and services the development of new products the improvement of software performance through use of new technologies and of new approaches to algorithms and frameworks. 15/10/10 5

Group Organization Group activities will continue to be organized around the main SFT products and services Baseline and consolidation tasks are mainly concentrated in the following projects Simulation: Geant4, Physics Validation and Event Generators ROOT: ROOT Core, ROOT Analysis, PROOF SPI: builds, tests, externals, web, Savannah Existing R&D projects will continue at some level with some elements already moving to baseline Multicore: parallel frameworks, performance studies CernVM : image production, file system In addition there will be a new project (Geant) that will investigate new approaches in event simulation 15/10/10 6

Scope and Goals of new Simulation Project The physics components of the new prototype will be based on the existing Geant4 physics code. New approaches will be tried with the aim of improving software performance. Changes to architecture and interfaces (navigators, geometry modelers etc.) will be tried to facilitate reuse of components for both fast and full simulation. The main deliverable will be a working prototype on a timescale of ~1 year. Rene will give details in a talk to the group very soon. 15/10/10 7

Support & Coordination Activity Organization 15/10/10 8 Arch. Forum Simulation Geant4 Geometry EM Physics HAD Physics Testing & Release MC Generators Testing Tuning Physics Validation ROOT ROOT Core I/O, Dictionary Interpreters, GUI ROOT Analysis Math Libraries, Fitting Statistical Libraries 2-D, 3-D Graphics PROOF G4-TF Software Process and Infrastructure (SPI) R&D Builds, Releases, Externals, Continuous Integration/Testing, Web, Savannah, … Multi-Core (WP8) Performance analysis Parallel applications Parallel algorithms Virtualization (WP9) CernVM image CernVM file system Geant New prototype GenserPhysVal LHC ExperimentsNon-LHC Exp.TheoryHEP InstitutesExternal Collb. LIMLPCC

Organizational Improvements Accountability New role to represent the voice of all stakeholders Revitalize existing bodies such as AF, LIM, GenserPlanning, to ensure that clients have an active role in planning and that group delivers the right things AF should focus on strategic planning of the contents and schedule of releases, leaving technical details of release planning to LIM Transparency Ensure that work plans are visible to the entire organization so that everyone is aware of what to expect Aim for a visible to-do list for each project that is constantly reprioritized Start a new regular meeting, open to all group members, that steers the overall planning of the Baseline and Consolidation Tasks - detailed planning continues to be managed in the project meetings Mobility and Flexibility Specialization is necessary but mobility and flexibility is essential Encourage volunteers to new assignments Short Cycles Tasks should be aimed towards fixed goals and carried out in short development cycles (~1 month) 15/10/10 9

Roles and Responsibilities John will take over as GL, managing group team organization and resources Pere will continue to run the AF and will chair the weekly technical group meeting that steers the baseline and consolidation tasks Fons will lead the ROOT development team. Gabriele will lead the Simulation development team Benedikt will lead the SPI activities Rene will lead the new event simulation project Vincenzo and Predrag will continue to lead the Multicore and CernVM R&D work packages 15/10/10 10

Consolidation Tasks Evolve towards a common group software development culture starting with the adoption of a common build/configuration tool Prepare the adoption by ROOT and Geant4 of a common web-site structure and documentation Replace use of CLHEP in Geant4 by the equivalent from ROOT Provide dictionaries to all Geant4 classes that need I/O or scripting capability Make RootMath and PROOF layered products that can be released independently … 15/10/10 11