A Maturity Model for Facilitating Virtual Lab's Co-Development

Modern research increasingly relies on complex data workflows, digital twins, and AI-driven models. While use-case-specific virtual labs within virtual research environments (VREs) facilitate making these computing-centric techniques FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), the transition from a technical demonstrator to a sustainable, community-wide service remains challenging. Development often stalls due to misaligned incentives for tool maintenance and coordination gaps between domain scientists and software engineers.

To overcome these coordination challenges, we propose a Virtual Lab Maturity Model designed to guide the co-development process. This model provides a structured framework to assess and evolve virtual labs through defined technical and functional milestones. By identifying gaps in research asset integration early, the model ensures that scientific workflows remain technically sustainable and reproducible.

We demonstrate the application of this framework within the Notebook-as-a-Virtual-Research-Environment (NaaVRE). The framework is currently deployed across ecology-focused virtual labs, co-developed by domain specialists, scientific software engineers, and the DevOps engineers at LifeWatch ERIC. One application is the LTER-LIFE project, where the maturity model steers the development of digital twins for Dutch aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. These virtual labs facilitate collaborative research; for example, a dedicated lab integrating the LANDIS-II forest landscape model enables researchers to configure and adapt simulations for site-specific scenarios.

The Virtual Lab Maturity Model facilitates a common language across disciplines and ensures alignment with FAIR principles. This systematic approach allows for the evolution of virtual labs from initial prototypes into collaborative platforms capable of supporting large-scale research. By formalizing the path to maturity, we provide a scalable roadmap for building digital infrastructure in the environmental sciences.