Title: A social study of the development and use of Grid for the LHC
1A social study of the development and use of Grid
for the LHC
- Will Venters (Lecturer in Information Systems)
- w.venters_at_lse.ac.uk
- www.pegasusresearch.org.uk
- UCL 23/2/07
2What is Information Systems?
- Study of ICTs development and use in the world
of people, e.g. - Systems development methods and their reshaping
- ICT and global outsourcing
- Business strategy and ICT
- Mobile technology and work
- ID cards debate
3Our Work
- ICT in use influences and is influenced by the
social context as well as by its technical
characteristics - We draw on the social sciences (e.g. economic,
social, organisational, and political viewpoints) - We have worked in, and done research on, complex
infrastructures - knowledge management
- financial networks
- health information systems
- systems development / software engineering
- open-source processes
- Pegasus builds on and will contribute to this
stream of work
4Our Expertise
5The Pegasus Team
- Three year project funded by the EPSRC
Usability challenges from e-science - Project started 1st June for 3 years.
- Members
- Dr Will Venters (Lecturer LSE)
- Dr Tony Cornford (Senior Lecturer LSE)
- Dr Mark Lancaster (Senior Lecturer in PP UCL)
- Dr Yingqin Zheng (Project Research Officer -LSE)
- Avgousta Kyriakidou (Project student -LSE)
- Advisory Group
- Prof. Tony Doyle, Prof. Steve Lloyd, Dr Elaine
Ferneley, Dr Susan Scott, Prof. Wanda Orlikowski.
Yingqin
Will
Mark
Tony
Avgousta
6The Pegasus Project
- We aim to study GridPPs approach to e-science
infrastructure development, deployment and use,
and as a mix of technology, practices, knowledge,
people, cultures, institutions, and politics - We study GridPP as a means to do science.
- Relevant for improving the potential of other
Grids, and to inform other large infrastructures
(e.g. NHS connecting for health, financial
clearing and settlement ).
7Why is GridPP interesting to us?
- Our interest is in how complex infrastructures
develop and evolve - particle physicists are pragmatic contrast to
other developers (e.g. consultancies,
corporations) - particle physicists are distributed and have for
a long time worked together as a "virtual
organisation" of great interest to others in
e-science. - GridPP has to deliver on time for LHC
8What are we planning to do?
- We trace
- development of GridPP
- what influences the technology
- how GridPP comes to be used for the LHC
- how this use affects GridPP
- We are interested not just in the rationalistic
processes of design, but in the emergent
behaviours, the improvisation in practices, the
dynamic competences which evolve - For many areas of IS development these are
crucial issues - global and distributed approaches,
collaborations, and contingent ways of processes
of innovation
Image courtesy of PPARC
9How do we intend to do this
Journals E-Science guidance Education
Ethnography / Interviews
Qualitative analysis using tools
Data Collection
Analysis
Publication
10Data Collection
- BUTthe particle detector is looking at
objective particles we are looking at
intelligent, complicated humans - We cannot do a scientific experiment instead we
employ a technique from anthropology Ethnography
- Not devolved objective observers (we know that
doesnt work!) - Observe, discuss, experience and participate
- Interest in cultures, values, ways of working
- Concerned with peoples interpretations
- Confidentiality and Impartiality
- Avoid bias from dominant opinions, or the
researcher - We are not from particle physics or computer
science so we can and will ask the stupid
questions
11Data Collection
- Over the next two to three years we will be
- Attending Meetings etc. of GridPP, LCG, EGEE
- Visiting workplaces (including UCL!)
- Asking questions
- Observing the technology in development and in
use - Reading and analysing documents
- Interviewing (usually around an hour)
- Taking lots of notes!
- And analysing the results!
12Research so far
- Interviews
- Observing Meetings
- Attending GridPP Collaboration meetings
- Mailing lists
- Wiki
- Interviews
- WLCG Collaboration Meeting
Grid Deployment (GridPP)
Grid Developers (middleware)
Grid Users (Actual and potential)
- Interviews
- Online Work Diary
13The kind of second order questions we will be
seeking answers to.
- How do you carry out experimental particle
physics research? - What activities are involved in your day to day
work? - How do you collaborate?
- How do you communicate?
- How do you approach problems and resolve them?
- How do you share expertise with colleagues and
deposit existing knowledge for future researchers?
14Data Analysis
15Emerging Themes
- Embedded PP practices are reflected in the way
Grid technology is being developed and the way
the collaborative effort is organised. - e.g. common goal, long term vision,
improvisation, distributed collaboration, virtual
organizations - Reliability, Scalability, and Efficiency
- Mediating the specificity of PP computing and
generality of grid infrastructure - Heedful systems and distributed cognition are
emerging areas of theoretical focus. (Weick and
Hutchins) -
16Wider Contributions to IS
- Existing theories of infrastructure suggest
infrastructure must be (Star and Ruhleder) - Embedded inside other technologies and social
arrangements - Built upon the installed base reflecting an
inertia. - Transparent in use (and not reinvented for each
task) - Only visible upon breakdown.
- Reach beyond a single event or practice.
- Learnt as part of becoming a member of a
community. - Embodied in standards (negotiated with other
infrastructure) - We aim to draw upon, and contribute to such
literature using, e.g. concepts such as
bricolage, situated actions, virtual
organisations, translation and inscription.
17Specific Outputs
- From all this observation we will write a set of
thick descriptions describing - How the needs of the LHC shape GridPP
- How GridPP is understood by, and comes to be used
by, particle physicists preparing for the LHC - How GridPP is actually put to use by particle
physicists in research using the data from LHC - Using these reports to produce a framework and
set of guidance for others developing similar
Grids (including engineering, businesses and
government).
18Finally...Whats in it for GridPP?
- The insights from the PP community and the way
you work will be of value to other scientific
communities. - Help promote the work of GridPP as a national
infrastructure for particle physics. - Help demystify particle physics, and let the
public learn about the process of technological
innovation within contemporary science. - Help the PP users reflect on their own practices
with computing technology. - Provide an alternative perspective on
experimental PP work.
19A social study of the development and use of Grid
for the LHC
- INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND INNOVATION GROUP
- Will Venters UCL 23/2/07
- w.venters_at_lse.ac.uk
- www.pegasusresearch.org.uk