From Vision to Implementation: Current Practices and Challenges of Software Management Plans in Research

With the digitalisation of scientific practice and processes, the development of research software has become nowadays a fundamental component of scientific work. Proper management and documentation of the research software development process are thus essential for good scientific practice, reproducibility, and knowledge transfer. Similar to data management plans (DMPs), software management plans (SMPs) are an essential tool to document and organise research software development in all phases of its lifecycle. While DMPs have established themselves as a kind of quasi-standard in many disciplines, SMPs have not achieved a comparable adoption yet. Why is this the case? And what could the next developments look like?