Bringing analysts and technical writers together through internal packages
A lightning talk given at Cascadia R Conf 2021
Abstract
Restructuring frequently used code snippets into well-organized internal packages is easier said than done. In this presentation, we share useful tools for package development and our approach to planning a package before writing the first line of code. We will discuss how to overcome challenges in this pre-coding phase, which is not as well documented as the technical aspects of the package development process. How do you find out what is it exactly that your team needs? How do you encourage team members to adopt the package and spread R culture? We answer these questions through a case study reflecting on our team’s experience creating a ggplot2 extension to meet the organization’s style guide for healthcare utilization reports. This package allows our analysts to focus on identifying trends in the data to share with the writing team instead of modifying their plots to get their look and feel right each time. Furthermore, this package has fostered an environment of collaboration by acting as a bridge between the analysts and technical writers in our organization.