Vviewpoints
DOI: 10.1145/2209249.2209262
Viewpoint
google’s hybrid
Approach to research

Google Fellow Jeffrey Dean discusses mapReduce, Google File system, and Bigtable during a keynote session.

In This ViewPoinT, we describe how weorganizecomputersci- ence research at Google. We focus on how we integrate re- search and development and discuss the benefits and risks of our approach. The challenge in organizing R&D is great because CS is an increasingly broad and diverse field. It combines aspects of mathematical reasoning, engineering methodology, and the empirical approaches of the scientific method. The empirical components are clearly on the upswing, in part because the computer systems we construct have become so large that analytic techniques cannot properly describe their properties, because the systems now dynamically adjust to the difficult-to-predict needs of a diverse user community, and because the systems can learn from vast datasets and large numbers of interactive sessions that provide continuous feedback.

We have also noted that CS is an ex-
panding sphere, where the core of the
field (theory, operating systems, and so
forth) continues to grow in depth, while
the field keeps expanding into neigh-
boring application areas. Research re-
sults come not only from universities,
but also from companies, both large
and small. The way research results are
disseminated is also evolving and the
peer-reviewed paper is under threat as
the dominant dissemination method.
Open source releases, standards speci-
fications, data releases, and novel com-
mercial systems that set new standards
upon which others then build are in-
creasingly important.