consulting.html

---
title: Software Engineering Consulting
title_image: jamie-street-_94HLr_QXo8-unsplash.jpg
layout: services/default
author: none
additional_css:
    - services/services-page-images.css
excerpt: >-
    We offer free-of-charge consulting in software engineering
    as a service to research groups under the Helmholtz umbrella.
---

<div class="alert alert-primary">
    <h2 class="alert-heading">TL;DR: Answer a few questions to request a Consultation</h2>
    <p>In order to reduce the amount of emails we need to send forth and back, we kindly
        ask you to fill out a few questions to request a consultation.
    </p>
    {% include contact_us/mini-form.html %}
</div>

<p>
    HIFIS offers free-of-charge consulting as a service
    to research groups under the Helmholtz umbrella.
    We can help you to deal with specific licensing issues,
    pointing out solutions on how to improve your software or
    setting up a new projects. We are also very happy to discuss
    other software engineering topics such as software engineering 
    process in general.

    Be aware that we are a small team that tries to help as
    many researchers and research groups as possible.
    Therefore we have to limit our total work time on each
    request to one week with a maximum of up to two weeks.
    Depending on the request type the processing might take
    a bit longer. We try to setup an initial meeting as early
    as possible.
</p>

<h1>The Consultation Process</h1>

<div class="image-block">
    <img
        class="help-image left"
        alt="Someone holding out a form having filled out the first part"
        src="{{ site.directory.images | relative_url }}/services/undraw_fill_forms_yltj.svg"
    />
    <div>
        <h3>1. First Contact</h3>
        <p>
            Step one: talk to us!
            Fill out the form at the bottom of this page &mdash;
            our dedicated team will direct that request to a consultant with knowledge and expertise in the areas related to your project.
        </p>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="image-block">
    <img
        class="help-image right"
        alt="A group of people sitting in a conference call"
        src="{{ site.directory.images | relative_url }}/services/undraw_conference_call_b0w6.svg"
    />
    <div>
        <h3>2. Let's Talk!</h3>
        <p>
            Our consultant will work with you and your team to help specify the problem,
            and identify a plan of action that you can take to solve the issue.
            We work with your research expertise and understanding of the project,
            and our wealth of software engineering experience
            to find the best solution for you to be able to maintain throughout your project's lifespan.
        </p>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="image-block">
    <img
        class="help-image left"
        alt="Two people standing either side of a board containing goals to be completed"
        src="{{ site.directory.images | relative_url }}/services/undraw_team_goals_hrii.svg"
    />
    <div>
        <h3>3. Let's Go!</h3>
        <p>
            Our consultations don't end after the first meeting &mdash;
            we provide ongoing support to help you with your project.
            We can provide tool and software recommendations,
            run training sessions,
            setup template projects,
            and much more.
        </p>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="image-block">
    <img
        class="help-image right"
        alt="Two people shaking hands in an office"
        src="{{ site.directory.images | relative_url }}/services/undraw_finish_line_katerina_limpitsouni_xy20.svg"
    />
    <div>
        <h3>4. Conclusion</h3>
        <p>
            All good things must come to an end,
            but our aim is to leave you more equipped and prepared at the end of the consultation process,
            so that you can maintain and support your project for as long as you need to.
        </p>
    </div>
</div>

<div class="image-attrib">Images by Katerina Limpitsouni via <a href="https://undraw.co/">undraw.co</a></div>

<h2> Handbook </h2>

<p>
    For a more in-depth look at the consulting process, please have a look at our 
    <a href={{ "consulting-handbook/" | relative_url }}>HIFIS Consulting Handbook</a>.
    It provides information on the process and the corresponding services we use for a successful consultation.
</p>

<h2> Helpful Resources </h2>

<p>
    The awesome-rse list is a curated awesome list of resources for Research Software Engineering (RSE). The list contains
    various tools and process recommendations that maybe made to the client.
    <br><br>
    <a href="https://github.com/hifis-net/awesome-rse">https://github.com/hifis-net/awesome-rse</a>.
</p>

<h2>Getting Started</h2>

<p>
    You can request a new consultation by using the link below.
</p>

<p id="consultation-request-form">
    {% include contact_us/mini-form.html %}
</p>

<p>
    If anything goes wrong during the process, feel free to <a href="mailto:{{site.contact_mail}}">email us</a> directly.
</p>