Is SAS Still Used, and Is It Worth Keeping?
Published: August 5, 2026.
Most regulated firms still run SAS. The question is whether to keep it. Why it lasted, why firms hold on too long, and the risks of a SAS to R migration.
Tag: litmus
litmus: Maintainer Criteria
Published: July 15, 2025.
How often do bugs get fixed? Does the package use source control? Is the package a solo or a group effort? These questions aid our understanding about the long-term viability of a package, and how "risky" it is.
R Package Quality: Code Quality
Published: July 10, 2025.
Code quality is what typically comes to mind when talking about "good packages". Does that package pass standard checks? What is the Unit test coverage? How many dependencies does the package have? This post discusses how we use code quality when determining the package litmus score.
R Package Quality: Documentation
Published: July 3, 2025.
Not all R packages are clearly “good” or “risky”, most fall somewhere in between. This post introduces our scoring framework around package documentation. We investigate the different measures, then look at a few well known packages.
Validating Shiny Apps in Regulated Environments
Published: June 30, 2025.
In regulated industries, Shiny apps must be reliable, reproducible, and well-documented. Validation builds trust, supports compliance, and prevents costly delays. Learn how to avoid common pitfalls and set up a lightweight, effective validation approach that scales with your needs. Validation isn’t a blocker, it’s a long-term advantage for you and your team.
R Package Quality: Package Popularity
Published: June 26, 2025.
The popularity of an R package can be measured using package downloads and reverse dependencies. While these measures clearly have issues, they do provide a good indication of the package health. This post looks at these measures in more detail.
R Package Quality: Validation and beyond!
Published: June 19, 2025.
Not all R packages are clearly “good” or “risky”, most fall somewhere in between. This post introduces a scoring framework to help users assess package quality, based on documentation, code, maintenance, and popularity. We also share key principles to ensure the scores are useful, fair, and adaptable to different contexts.
Introducing Litmus Dashboard
Published: April 7, 2025.
The Litmusverse is a suite of R tools that automates the risk assessment, scoring, and reporting of R packages—supporting compliance in regulated environments. Built for use across CRAN, Bioconductor, and internal repos, it helps teams streamline package approval and maintain a production-ready R ecosystem.
Should I Use Your R Package?
Published: March 31, 2025.
Wondering if your R package collection is any good? It all boils down to your risk appetite. Happy to wing it? Go for it! Need rock-solid reliability? You'll want proper validation.
