LabOps: A flexible self-hosted workflow of open source tools for efficient collaboration within research laboratories

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Information Science
• Research Management

Background:

• Effective collaboration in academia relies on efficient communication and digital infrastructure.
• Current proprietary tools for research labs are often restrictive and inflexible.
• Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is underutilized in supporting research lab collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss the implementation of a FOSS computational workflow for active collaboration in academic environments.
• To identify FOSS tools supporting collaborative writing, instant messaging, and data storage.
• To present the Lab Operations (LabOps) workflow as an alternative to proprietary solutions.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and analysis of existing FOSS tools for collaboration.
• Conceptualization and description of the LabOps workflow.
• Discussion of self-hosting, adaptability, and adoption strategies.

Main Results:

• Identification of suitable FOSS tools for research lab communication and data management.
• Presentation of the adaptable and self-hostable LabOps workflow.
• Analysis of the benefits, flexibility, and limitations of the proposed workflow.

Conclusions:

• The LabOps workflow provides a viable, customizable FOSS alternative for academic research collaboration.
• Adoption of FOSS can enhance communication, resource sharing, and flexibility in research labs.
• Further exploration of FOSS implementation can address the need for standardized, structured collaboration suites.