Documentation of Process?

[gnolnait]

Since a portion of our grade is based on reproducibility of our process, does that mean every member of our group (every role) must submit the source code for their portion? And include step-by-step descriptions for tasks done manually? Is there a particular format for this?

[aculich]

Submitting the source code is one of the best steps you can take toward reproducibility. If you don't submit the source code then what is the alternative? The next best thing would be a list of step-by-step manual instructions... but if you already have the source code then why would you write up less precise manual instructions to do it manually?

If you do not have source code for some of your processes, then instructions are the next best thing, but as you've seen, writing good, reproducible instructions is very difficult! It is easy to build in assumptions or leave out important steps. Since source code is automatically executable it is easier to verify correctness.