During February 26–28, 2025, the first-ever particle accelerator user interface/user experience (UI/UX) workshop was held at SLAC. Attendees had backgrounds ranging from software development to control systems management and human factors science. The workshop began with participants discussing the current state of UI/UX procedures and practices at their respective laboratories to share experiences and learn from one another. Additional discussions focused on how to effectively integrate UI/UX best practices into actionable goals for developers, managers, and operators when working on new or existing interfaces.
At the end of the workshop, participants developed a plan to create a website that will guide developers, managers, scientists, and end users at accelerator laboratories in incorporating UI/UX best practices into software development. Workshop attendees continue to meet as a working group to develop content and guides for this website, with a planned completion date of November 2025. Plans are also in place to host another workshop next year to foster further collaboration among laboratories.
As the ALS undergoes a transformation into a fourth-generation synchrotron, new web software developed by the ALS Computing Group continues to expand in functionality to support both current and future beamline capabilities. The Computing Group’s software interfaces and UI/UX procedures are contributing to content development for the accelerator workshop website, while the group also refines its development process based on insights gained from other workshop participants.
