From Roadblocks to Breakthroughs: Navigating the Challenges of Adopting New Open Source Tools
Regular talk, 11:20 AM - 12:20 PM
Adopting new open-source technology can be both exciting and challenging. While a tool may appear promising and seem like the perfect fit for a specific task early-stage technologies often come with their own set of hurdles. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of comprehensive resources—such as detailed documentation practical examples active discussion boards and community support—which can make it difficult to troubleshoot issues or fully understand the tool’s capabilities. This often requires additional effort experimentation and problem-solving to get things working as intended.
At last year’s Posit Conference I was introduced to a new tool called closeread a Quarto extension designed for vertical scrollytelling. The concept immediately caught my interest because it seemed like an innovative way to enhance storytelling with data. Motivated by its potential I decided to give it a try shortly after the conference. However my initial experience was challenging. The tool was only partially functional and when I encountered technical issues I struggled to find enough supporting resources to resolve them. The available documentation was limited examples were scarce and there wasn’t much discussion happening in community forums. Frustrated by these obstacles I eventually set the tool aside unsure of how to move forward.
Some time later I came across a user-contribution contest that reignited my interest in closeread. This contest motivated me to tackle the tool again but this time with a different mindset. Instead of relying solely on available resources I approached the problem more systematically—digging into the code experimenting with different configurations and learning through trial and error. This hands-on approach combined with the fresh motivation from the contest helped me overcome the technical challenges I had faced earlier. Eventually I was able to get the tool working successfully and in the process I gained a deeper understanding of how to navigate the common pitfalls associated with adopting new technology.
In my talk I will share this learning journey in detail highlighting the strategies that helped me move from frustration to success. I’ll discuss practical approaches for overcoming deployment challenges including how to troubleshoot effectively when documentation is limited how to leverage community resources even when they seem sparse and how to maintain motivation when progress feels slow. I’ll also offer insights into the mindset shifts that can make a big difference—like viewing challenges as opportunities to deepen your technical skills rather than as roadblocks.
Ultimately my goal is to provide attendees with actionable advice that they can apply when working with new or evolving technologies. Whether you’re an experienced developer or someone just starting out with open-source tools I believe the lessons from my closeread experience will resonate and offer valuable takeaways for tackling your own technology adoption challenges.”
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Pronouns: he/himSeattle, WA, USADror Berel is a statistical consultant with over 20 years of work experience in both academia and industry. He loves using R for (almost) everything. He works as an independent consultant, solving business problems and scale analytical tools for diverse data domains, leveraging both traditional Machine learning and Causal Inference along with modern approaches. Among the data domains he specialize in are: genomic biomarker discovery, clinical data reporting (CDISC, ADaM, TLGs). His services also include: Authoring Real World Evidence data analysis and documentation. Writing statistical plans, Power analysis, Design of experiments, and biomarker discovery. Developing R/Shiny apps, and REST APIs. Golem, Rhino, Teal and others. |