The objective of the survey was to assess the heterogeneity of software used by the LTER community. Although software ideally should be extensible and have clear export paths, there are few other specific rules to guide software infrastructure. Consideration of such questions permits a definition of priorities. Subsequently, more task-specific questions can be asked, such as whether scientific visualization tools are a high priority and how data can be accessed. Available resources play a significant role in discussions of the organizational approach of a research group.
Some sites identify and encourage use of a common set of software tools.
In such cases, the availability of training can help those users not familiar with the supported tools. Other sites find a range of diverse software to be advantageous. It is important, given the variety of software available, to consider the collective consequences of software choice and to develop a policy regarding which packages will be site supported in order to maintain realistic user expectations. Familiarity also plays a role in the decision-making process. The LTER software survey permits sites to place their own decisions into a network-wide context, i.e., a survey extends a single site's experience to a network of sites.