[AndyPatterson]

I work using R almost everyday and I think many of the problems that are unique to R could be solved by having a couple of experienced SWE in the core team to point R in the right direction. As it stands, I think R will be left behind until it fixes things like performance and scalability (e.g. intuitive byref semantics and a faster runtime) and a consistent scoping model and OOP.

Apart from that, I think there's a bigger challenge which still needs to be addressed is that analysis/modelling projects tend to be worked on by individuals and/or thrown away after the initial value is pulled out of them.

Going forward, I think we need to start identifying design methodologies that would make collaborating on this sort of work pain-free and more agile. Doing so should give us more value and sooner and for longer.