bead: A Data Provenance Tool for Diverse Teams

Reproducing research results requires knowing exactly which version of the data was used and understanding the steps taken to clean and analyse it. This can be challenging in distributed environments with many contributors. bead (https://bead.zip) is a simple command-line tool and archive format that systematically documents data workflows. Each saved "bead" captures a single processing step: the input data (via unique references), the code used, and the resulting outputs—whether cleaned datasets, visualisations, or reports. By recording these steps and linking them via input references, bead facilitates easy review, maintenance, and re-execution of computations, while also fostering collaboration. This talk will begin by introducing the problem, followed by a demo/presentation of the tool, and will conclude with a discussion of its long-term application in Economics research at Central European University.A recording of this session is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RB2SIzyoDcg