Building Robust Practices for Research Outputs: Supporting Quality and Assessment

Research Software Engineering (RSE) is no longer a hidden force behind scientific discovery—it is a cornerstone of research excellence. As modern research becomes increasingly computational, the role of RSEs has evolved from coding assistants to essential contributors who drive innovation, ensure reproducibility, and elevate the quality of scientific outputs. Departing from the experience of an embedded RSE team in the arts and humanities, this talk explores the dual identity of RSEs: as both enablers of high-impact research and as integral components of human digital research infrastructure. Central to this discussion are two lightweight but powerful tools: the KDL Checklist Document for digital outputs assessment and the Project Release Document (PRD). The Checklist is a practical tool meant for academic colleagues to guide them through a holistic assessment of their digital output when submitting to the UK research evaluation framework (REF). The PRD is meant to be used internally by a KDL project sub-team to ensure the overall suitability of the digital output ahead of its release. These documents are meant to guide the King’s Digital Lab team and its partners through critical development milestones, ensuring that research software and associated outputs are not only functional, but also reproducible, maintainable, and robust. From versioning and documentation to testing and licensing, these tools embed best practices directly into the release process and review of outputs. The talk will also reflect on the difficulties encountered when introducing new practices and how to best socialise them both internally and with partners. By framing RSE as infrastructure, we acknowledge the people, practices, and principles that underpin trustworthy research. This perspective elevates the conversation beyond code quality to institutional and lab or departmental-level strategy— where integrating RSE good practices translates into investment in research reliability, scalability, and long-term impact. A recording of this session is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/npx6oENLe6U