Software Development and Systems Design Core
The Software Development and Systems Design Core (SD2C) was founded in 2023 to service the University of Utah research community through the design, development, deployment, and maintenance of custom technologies. The core is directed by Andrew K. Moran, PhD, who has experience in managing IT projects, developing full-stack code, and strategizing CI/CD pipelines in research environments. The core specializes in game and app design for digital health but also has experience in research software engineering for biomedical applications. Dr. Moran brings a unique understanding of both user needs and knowledge of the coding infrastructure needed to deliver digital tools to researchers.
The SD2C offers the following services:
- Automated data collection services
- Custom database creation and deployment
- Tailored data analysis pipelines
- Embedded systems design (i.e., hardware/wearables and software integration)
- Mobile app and video game development
- Dynamic web development
Note: If you are seeking a quote estimate for grant support, please allow for a 1-2 weeks turnaround time for proper scoping of a project and a more accurate quote.
Project Rates1
Software and Hardware Development
| Service | Description | Internal Rate academic ($/hr) | External Rate academic ($/hr) | External Rate commercial ($/hr) |
| Consultation | The process of working with the client to understand their needs and requirements for the software. | $73.12 | $112.97 | $127.59 |
| Research & Prototyping | The process of performing background research and prototype development for software systems. | $73.12 | $112.97 | $127.59 |
| System design I | The process of designing the architecture and components of the software system. | $73.12 | $112.97 | $127.59 |
| System design II | The process of designing the architecture and components of the software and hardware systems. | $78.12 | $120.70 | $136.32 |
| UI/UX mockup | Design and mockup of user interface and experience. | $75.30 | $116.34 | $131.40 |
| Development I | Writing code for systems. | $61.82 | $95.51 | $107.88 |
| Development II | Writing code for systems with hardware implementation. | $66.82 | $103.24 | $116.60 |
| Testing I | Testing to ensure the software works as expected and meets all requirements. | $61.82 | $95.51 | $107.88 |
| Testing II | Testing to ensure the software and hardware work as expected and meet all requirements. | $66.82 | $103.24 | $116.60 |
| Deployment | The process of making the software systems available to end-users. | $61.82 | $95.51 | $107.88 |
| Maintenance and support2 | The process of fixing bugs and adding new features to the software system after it has been deployed. | $75.30 | $116.34 | $131.40 |
| Performance Tuning | The process of optimizing the software system to improve its performance and scalability. | $62.47 | $96.52 | $109.01 |
Miscellaneous Development Fees
| Service | Description | Internal Rate academic ($/hr) | External Rate academic ($/hr) | External Rate commercial ($/hr) |
| High-end computing fees3 | Services that utilize high GPU or CPU computing power. | $73.12 | $112.97 | $127.59 |
| Fasttrack fees | For expedited software development, testing, and deployment. | $61.82 | $95.51 | $107.88 |
| License usage fees | Proprietary licensing fees for the use of software not covered by OSL. | SD4 | SD | SD |
| Project Start fee | Onetime fee for covering meetings prior to starting billable work. | $146.25 | $225.95 | $394.29 |
| Grantsmanship fee | Onetime fee for collaboration or contribution of quotable services towards a funded award. | $115.75 | $178.84 | $312.07 |
Game Development
| Service | Description | Internal Rate academic ($/hr) | External Rate academic ($/hr) | External Rate commercial ($/hr) |
| Game Design I | Game design for non-VR applications. | $73.12 | $112.97 | $127.59 |
| Game Design II | Game design for VR applications. | $78.12 | $120.70 | $136.32 |
| Game Development I | Game programming and asset creation for non-VR applications. | $61.82 | $95.51 | $107.88 |
| Game Development II | Game programming and asset creation for VR applications. | $66.82 | $103.24 | $116.60 |
| Game Testing/Optimization I | Game optimization and testing for non-VR applications. | $61.82 | $95.51 | $107.88 |
| Game Testing/Optimization II | Game optimization and testing for VR applications. | $66.82 | $103.24 | $116.60 |
| Game Deployment I | Game integration and deployment for non-VR applications. | $61.82 | $95.51 | $107.88 |
| Game Deployment II | Game integration and deployment for VR applications. | $66.82 | $103.24 | $116.60 |
Footnotes
- As of May 2024, pending administrative approval. ↩︎
- Reasonable post-deployment maintenance of software with patches/bug fixes caused by SD2C code is complimentary, with a set end date. However, this fee mainly relates to small-scale, existing software modification and testing. ↩︎
- Miscellaneous high-end computing services are extra fees charged for cloud computing, ML/AI algorithm development, or any computationally intensive programs that require development and testing on a powerful machine (such as CHPC's supercomputing cluster). These costs help recover computing time for the SD2C on CHPC clusters. ↩︎
- SD means software dependent. This fee depends on the number of software licenses needed for development which are not listed on OSL's website. ↩︎
Requesting Services
Existing users may login directly to the Resource Scheduling System to schedule or order services. This system is cores-wide and uses University of Utah uNID authentication.
Charge Rates Procedure / Federal Facilities and Administration (F&A) Rate
Part of the University’s agreement with the Federal Government regarding F&A is that the University will not offer a lower than F&A rate to other kinds of sponsors. That means that the University has to use, at minimum, the same rates for commercial sponsors as it does for the Federal Government. The University would jeopardize its relationship with the Federal Government (the University’s single largest sponsor) if it were to accept rates lower than the current federal F&A rate.
The current F&A Rate is: 54%
The facility internal rate is used when exclusively internal funding sources are used. The F&A / external academic rate applies when external funding sources are used i.e. Federal Government or other academic universities. For more information about F&A rates at the University of Utah please see: 6.3 Indirect Costs/Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A)
Hours of Operation
8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Monday - Friday
Citing Our Facility
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank you for acknowledging our facility. This recognition allows us to highlight the impact of your work and demonstrates the important contributions of our facility makes to research across the University of Utah. The recognition our core receives from your acknowledgments also aids in receiving grants and further funding for equipment and services we can provide to our users.
Self-Run Services / Instrumentation Usage:
In published papers that used instruments at our facility and notably involved staff members please use the following format:
We acknowledge the Software Development and System Design Core at the University of Utah for its services.
Assisted Services:
In published papers where a staff member assisted you in addition to the requested services please use the following format:
We acknowledge the Software Development and Systems Design Core at the University of Utah for use of equipment (insert instrument/service details here), and thank (insert staff member-required) for their assistance in (service provided).
Collaboration:
For publications resulting from collaborations that assisted with the methodologies, planning process and execution of your experiment in addition to equipment usage we require Co-author attribution on your publication for our facility and any staff members who provided substantial contributions to the originating project.