diff --git a/.github/workflows/coveralls.yml b/.github/workflows/coveralls.yml
index b2b5bb667..5050dff31 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/coveralls.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/coveralls.yml
@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ jobs:
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip
         python -m pip install flake8 pytest
         if [ -f requirements.txt ]; then pip install -r requirements.txt; fi
-        python setup.py develop
-        python setup.py build_cannonsim
+        python -m pip install --editable .
+        cd tests/cannonsim/src; make; cd ../../..
         pip install pytest-cov
         pip install coveralls
     - name: Create coverage report
diff --git a/.github/workflows/python-package.yml b/.github/workflows/python-package.yml
index 0dfdfcdeb..331adc678 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/python-package.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/python-package.yml
@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ jobs:
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip
         python -m pip install flake8 pytest
         if [ -f requirements.txt ]; then pip install -r requirements.txt; fi
-        python setup.py develop
-        python setup.py build_cannonsim
+        python -m pip install --editable .
+        cd tests/cannonsim/src; make; cd ../../..
         pip install pytest-cov
         pip install coveralls
     - name: Lint with flake8
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ffd86c396..6f81966f1 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -21,4 +21,3 @@ pep.sh
 *.csv
 env/
 .ipynb_checkpoints/
-fusion_pce.*/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 93a8927aa..ceef4db83 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -89,16 +89,11 @@ git clone https://github.com/UCL-CCS/EasyVVUQ.git
 
 Note: As above, you need to be sure you are installing for Python 3 - if necessary replace `pip` with `pip3` and `python` with `python3` in the commands below.
 
-We are trying to keep dependencies at a minimum but a few are inevitable, to install them use:
+We are trying to keep dependencies at a minimum but a few are inevitable, to install these, install the EasyVVUQ library itself and build a test case use:
 ```
 cd EasyVVUQ/
 
-pip install --use-feature=2020-resolver -r requirements.txt
-```
-
-Then the library can be installed using:
-```buildoutcfg
-python setup.py install
+bash install_EasyVVUQ.sh
 ```
 
 ## API
diff --git a/easyvvuq/_version.py b/easyvvuq/_version.py
index 304dd10d9..271f3d3d9 100644
--- a/easyvvuq/_version.py
+++ b/easyvvuq/_version.py
@@ -138,23 +138,22 @@ def git_get_keywords(versionfile_abs):
     # _version.py.
     keywords = {}
     try:
-        f = open(versionfile_abs, "r")
-        for line in f.readlines():
-            if line.strip().startswith("git_refnames ="):
-                mo = re.search(r'=\s*"(.*)"', line)
-                if mo:
-                    keywords["refnames"] = mo.group(1)
-            if line.strip().startswith("git_full ="):
-                mo = re.search(r'=\s*"(.*)"', line)
-                if mo:
-                    keywords["full"] = mo.group(1)
-            if line.strip().startswith("git_date ="):
-                mo = re.search(r'=\s*"(.*)"', line)
-                if mo:
-                    keywords["date"] = mo.group(1)
-        f.close()
+        with open(versionfile_abs, "r") as f:
+            for line in f.readlines():
+                if line.strip().startswith("git_refnames ="):
+                    mo = re.search(r'=\s*"(.*)"', line)
+                    if mo:
+                        keywords["refnames"] = mo.group(1)
+                if line.strip().startswith("git_full ="):
+                    mo = re.search(r'=\s*"(.*)"', line)
+                    if mo:
+                        keywords["full"] = mo.group(1)
+                if line.strip().startswith("git_date ="):
+                    mo = re.search(r'=\s*"(.*)"', line)
+                    if mo:
+                        keywords["date"] = mo.group(1)
     except EnvironmentError:
-        pass
+        if os.getenv("EasyVVUQ_Debug"): print('EnvironmentError raised and ignored')
     return keywords
 
 
@@ -513,7 +512,7 @@ def get_versions():
         if cfg.parentdir_prefix:
             return versions_from_parentdir(cfg.parentdir_prefix, root, verbose)
     except NotThisMethod:
-        pass
+        if os.getenv("EasyVVUQ_Debug"): print('NotThisMethod raised and ignored')
 
     return {"version": "0+unknown", "full-revisionid": None,
             "dirty": None,
diff --git a/easyvvuq/actions/execute_local.py b/easyvvuq/actions/execute_local.py
index d9fcee856..e2659ff13 100644
--- a/easyvvuq/actions/execute_local.py
+++ b/easyvvuq/actions/execute_local.py
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ def start(self, previous=None):
         try:
             previous['encoder_filename'] = self.encoder.target_filename
         except AttributeError:
-            pass
+            if os.getenv("EasyVVUQ_Debug"): print('AttributeError raised and ignored')
         return previous
 
     def finished(self):
@@ -233,6 +233,8 @@ def start(self, previous=None):
         self.ret = subprocess.run(
             self.full_cmd, cwd=target_dir,
             stdout=stdout, stderr=stderr)
+        if isinstance(self.stdout, str): close(stdout)
+        if isinstance(self.stderr, str): close(stderr)
         return previous
 
     def finished(self):
@@ -241,6 +243,8 @@ def finished(self):
     def finalise(self):
         """Performs clean-up if necessary. In this case it isn't. I think.
         """
+        stdout.close()
+        stderr.close()
         pass
 
     def succeeded(self):
diff --git a/easyvvuq/analysis/mcmc.py b/easyvvuq/analysis/mcmc.py
index 6ad30d072..700b6b7a1 100644
--- a/easyvvuq/analysis/mcmc.py
+++ b/easyvvuq/analysis/mcmc.py
@@ -41,9 +41,7 @@ def plot_hist(self, input_parameter, chain=None, skip=0, merge=True):
         input_parameter = (input_parameter, 0)
         if merge:
             chain_keys = list(self.chains.keys())
-            df = self.chains[chain_keys[0]][input_parameter].iloc[skip:]
-            for chain in chain_keys[1:]:
-                df.append(self.chains[chain][input_parameter].iloc[skip:])
+            df = pd.concat([self.chains[ck][input_parameter].iloc[skip:] for ck in chain_keys])
             plt.hist(df, 20)
         else:
             plt.hist(self.chains[chain][input_parameter].iloc[skip:], 20)
diff --git a/easyvvuq/analysis/pce_analysis.py b/easyvvuq/analysis/pce_analysis.py
index cea7e7e2c..8a20c0cfe 100644
--- a/easyvvuq/analysis/pce_analysis.py
+++ b/easyvvuq/analysis/pce_analysis.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 from .base import BaseAnalysisElement
 from .results import AnalysisResults
 from .qmc_analysis import QMCAnalysisResults
+import traceback
 
 __author__ = 'Jalal Lakhlili'
 __license__ = "LGPL"
@@ -475,29 +476,33 @@ def build_surrogate_der(Y_hat, verbose=False):
                 results['sobols_total'][k] = ST
 
             # Sensitivity Analysis: Derivative based
-            dY_hat = build_surrogate_der(fit, verbose=False)
-            derivatives_first_dict = {}
-            Ndimensions = len(self.sampler.vary.vary_dict)
-            for i, param_name in enumerate(self.sampler.vary.vary_dict):
-                if self.sampler.nominal_value:
-                    # Evaluate dY_hat['param'] at the nominal value of the parameters
-                    values = self.sampler.nominal_value
-                    logging.info(f"Using nominal value of the parameters to evaluate the derivative ")
-                    derivatives_first_dict[param_name] = cp.polynomial(dY_hat[param_name])(*[v for v in values.values()])
-                elif all([type(v) == type(cp.Normal()) for v in self.sampler.vary.vary_dict.values()]):
-                    # Evaluate dY_hat['param'] at the mean of the parameters
-                    logging.info(f"Using mean value of the parameters to evaluate the derivative ")
-                    derivatives_first_dict[param_name] = cp.polynomial(dY_hat[param_name])(*[v.get_mom_parameters()["shift"][0] for v in self.sampler.vary.vary_dict.values()])
-                elif all([type(v) == type(cp.Uniform()) for v in self.sampler.vary.vary_dict.values()]):
-                    logging.info(f"Using mean value of the parameters to evaluate the derivative ")
-                    # Evaluate dY_hat['param'] at the mean of the parameters
-                    derivatives_first_dict[param_name] = cp.polynomial(dY_hat[param_name])(*[(v.lower + v.upper)/2.0 for v in self.sampler.vary.vary_dict.values()])
-                else:
-                    # Evaluate dY_hat['param'] at the zero vector
-                    logging.info(f"Using zero vector to evaluate the derivative ")
-                    derivatives_first_dict[param_name] = cp.polynomial(dY_hat[param_name])(*np.zeros(Ndimensions))
+            try:
+                dY_hat = build_surrogate_der(fit, verbose=False)
+                derivatives_first_dict = {}
+                Ndimensions = len(self.sampler.vary.vary_dict)
+                for i, param_name in enumerate(self.sampler.vary.vary_dict):
+                    if self.sampler.nominal_value:
+                        # Evaluate dY_hat['param'] at the nominal value of the parameters
+                        values = self.sampler.nominal_value
+                        logging.info(f"Using nominal value of the parameters to evaluate the derivative ")
+                        derivatives_first_dict[param_name] = cp.polynomial(dY_hat[param_name])(*[v for v in values.values()])
+                    elif all([type(v) == type(cp.Normal()) for v in self.sampler.vary.vary_dict.values()]):
+                        # Evaluate dY_hat['param'] at the mean of the parameters
+                        logging.info(f"Using mean value of the parameters to evaluate the derivative ")
+                        derivatives_first_dict[param_name] = cp.polynomial(dY_hat[param_name])(*[v.get_mom_parameters()["shift"][0] for v in self.sampler.vary.vary_dict.values()])
+                    elif all([type(v) == type(cp.Uniform()) for v in self.sampler.vary.vary_dict.values()]):
+                        logging.info(f"Using mean value of the parameters to evaluate the derivative ")
+                        # Evaluate dY_hat['param'] at the mean of the parameters
+                        derivatives_first_dict[param_name] = cp.polynomial(dY_hat[param_name])(*[(v.lower + v.upper)/2.0 for v in self.sampler.vary.vary_dict.values()])
+                    else:
+                        # Evaluate dY_hat['param'] at the zero vector
+                        logging.info(f"Using zero vector to evaluate the derivative ")
+                        derivatives_first_dict[param_name] = cp.polynomial(dY_hat[param_name])(*np.zeros(Ndimensions))
+
+                    results['derivatives_first'][k] = derivatives_first_dict
 
-            results['derivatives_first'][k] = derivatives_first_dict
+            except Exception:
+                traceback.print_exc()
 
             # Transform the relative numbers back to the absolute values
             if self.relative_analysis:
diff --git a/easyvvuq/db/sql.py b/easyvvuq/db/sql.py
index b21c323d9..7c07d10bf 100644
--- a/easyvvuq/db/sql.py
+++ b/easyvvuq/db/sql.py
@@ -9,10 +9,8 @@
 import numpy as np
 from sqlalchemy.sql import case
 from sqlalchemy import create_engine, Column, Integer, String, ForeignKey
-from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
-from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker
+from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker, declarative_base
 from sqlalchemy import MetaData
-from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
 from sqlalchemy import text
 from sqlalchemy.engine import Engine
 from sqlalchemy import event
@@ -321,7 +319,7 @@ def update_sampler(self, sampler_id, sampler_element):
             The sampler that should be used as the new state
         """
 
-        selected = self.session.query(SamplerTable).get(sampler_id)
+        selected = self.session.get(SamplerTable,sampler_id)
         selected.sampler = easyvvuq_serialize(sampler_element)
         self.session.commit()
 
@@ -340,7 +338,7 @@ def resurrect_sampler(self, sampler_id):
             The 'live' sampler object, deserialized from the state in the db
         """
         try:
-            serialized_sampler = self.session.query(SamplerTable).get(sampler_id).sampler
+            serialized_sampler = self.session.get(SamplerTable,sampler_id).sampler 
             sampler = easyvvuq_deserialize(serialized_sampler.encode('utf-8'))
         except AttributeError:
             sampler = None
@@ -581,7 +579,7 @@ def get_sampler_id(self, campaign_id):
         int
             The id of the sampler set for the specified campaign
         """
-        sampler_id = self.session.query(CampaignTable).get(campaign_id).sampler
+        sampler_id = self.session.get(CampaignTable,campaign_id).sampler
         return sampler_id
 
     def set_sampler(self, campaign_id, sampler_id):
@@ -594,7 +592,7 @@ def set_sampler(self, campaign_id, sampler_id):
         sampler_id: int
             ID of the sampler.
         """
-        self.session.query(CampaignTable).get(campaign_id).sampler = sampler_id
+        self.session.get(CampaignTable,campaign_id).sampler = sampler_id
         self.session.commit()
 
     def campaign_dir(self, campaign_name=None):
diff --git a/easyvvuq/encoders/jinja_encoder.py b/easyvvuq/encoders/jinja_encoder.py
index 8b811bbe3..5016c29cb 100644
--- a/easyvvuq/encoders/jinja_encoder.py
+++ b/easyvvuq/encoders/jinja_encoder.py
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ def encode(self, params={}, target_dir=''):
         try:
             with open(self.template_fname, 'r') as template_file:
                 template_txt = template_file.read()
-                self.template = Template(template_txt)
+                self.template = Template(template_txt, autoescape=True)
         except FileNotFoundError:
             raise RuntimeError(
                 "the template file specified ({}) does not exist".format(self.template_fname))
diff --git a/easyvvuq/sampling/mc_sampler.py b/easyvvuq/sampling/mc_sampler.py
index cfab7d9f5..5c6d311a2 100644
--- a/easyvvuq/sampling/mc_sampler.py
+++ b/easyvvuq/sampling/mc_sampler.py
@@ -49,13 +49,11 @@ def __init__(self, vary, n_mc_samples, **kwargs):
         None.
 
         """
-        super().__init__(vary=vary, max_num=n_mc_samples, **kwargs)
+        super().__init__(vary=vary, count=0, max_num=n_mc_samples, **kwargs)
         # the number of uncertain inputs
         self.n_params = len(vary)
         # the number of MC samples, for each of the n_params + 2 input matrices
         self.n_mc_samples = n_mc_samples
-        self.vary = Vary(vary)
-        self.count = 0
         # joint distribution
         self.joint = cp.J(*list(vary.values()))
         # create the Saltelli sampling plan
diff --git a/easyvvuq/sampling/mcmc.py b/easyvvuq/sampling/mcmc.py
index 4d71768cc..d20799b50 100644
--- a/easyvvuq/sampling/mcmc.py
+++ b/easyvvuq/sampling/mcmc.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from .base import BaseSamplingElement
 import numpy as np
-
+import os
 
 class MCMCSampler(BaseSamplingElement, sampler_name='mcmc_sampler'):
     """A Metropolis-Hastings MCMC Sampler.
@@ -142,12 +142,12 @@ def update(self, result, invalid):
                 ignored_runs += list(result.loc[result[('chain_id', 0)]
                                                 == chain_id]['run_id'].values)
             except KeyError:
-                pass
+                if os.getenv("EasyVVUQ_Debug"): print('KeyError raised and ignored')
             try:
                 ignored_runs += list(invalid.loc[invalid[('chain_id', 0)]
                                                  == chain_id]['run_id'].values)
             except KeyError:
-                pass
+                if os.getenv("EasyVVUQ_Debug"): print('KeyError raised and ignored')
         ignored_runs = [run[0] for run in ignored_runs]
         self.iteration += 1
         return ignored_runs
diff --git a/easyvvuq/sampling/qmc.py b/easyvvuq/sampling/qmc.py
index 0c5e6eada..e6a88a62e 100644
--- a/easyvvuq/sampling/qmc.py
+++ b/easyvvuq/sampling/qmc.py
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 """
 
 import chaospy as cp
-from SALib.sample import saltelli
+from SALib.sample import sobol
+#from SALib.sample import saltelli
 from .base import BaseSamplingElement, Vary
 import logging
 
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ def __init__(self, vary, n_mc_samples, count=0):
             "bounds": [[0, 1]] * self.n_params
         }
 
-        nodes = saltelli.sample(problem, n_mc_samples, calc_second_order=False)
+        nodes = sobol.sample(problem, n_mc_samples, calc_second_order=False,scramble=True)
 
         self._samples = self.distribution.inv(dist_U.fwd(nodes.transpose()))
 
diff --git a/install_EasyVVUQ.sh b/install_EasyVVUQ.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b4cf56f9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install_EasyVVUQ.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#1) Install Requirements
+echo 'Install Requirements'
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+
+#2) Install EasyVVUQ
+echo 'Installing EasyVVUQ'
+python -m pip install .
+
+#3) Build cannonsim test
+echo 'Building cannonsim'
+cd tests/cannonsim/src
+make 
+cd ../../..
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index d7febe31f..d022ddf9f 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -23,4 +23,6 @@ dill
 tqdm
 qcg-pilotjob~=0.13.0
 qcg-pilotjob-executor-api~=0.13.0
-h5py
\ No newline at end of file
+h5py
+tomli
+fipy
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 43706433e..256de2933 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -5,39 +5,6 @@
 import versioneer
 import subprocess
 
-
-class BuildCannonsimCommand(distutils.cmd.Command):
-    description = 'build cannonsim'
-    user_options = []
-
-    def initialize_options(self):
-        pass
-
-    def finalize_options(self):
-        pass
-
-    def run(self):
-        self.announce('Building cannonsim')
-        subprocess.check_call(['make'], cwd=path.abspath('./tests/cannonsim/src'))
-
-
-class BuildNotebooks(distutils.cmd.Command):
-    description = 'build tutorials as Jupyter notebooks'
-    user_options = []
-
-    def initialize_options(self):
-        pass
-
-    def finalize_options(self):
-        pass
-
-    def run(self):
-        self.announce('Building tutorial as Jupyter notebooks')
-        tutorials = ['basic_tutorial.rst', 'cooling_coffee_cup.rst']
-        for tutorial in tutorials:
-            subprocess.check_call(['rst2ipynb', tutorial, '-o', path.splitext(tutorial)[0] + '.ipynb'], cwd=path.abspath('./docs'))
-
-
 class BuildPyCommand(setuptools.command.build_py.build_py):
     def run(self):
         setuptools.command.build_py.build_py.run(self)
@@ -48,8 +15,6 @@ def run(self):
     long_description = f.read()
 
 cmdclass = versioneer.get_cmdclass()
-cmdclass['build_cannonsim'] = BuildCannonsimCommand
-cmdclass['build_notebooks'] = BuildNotebooks
 cmdclass['build_py'] = BuildPyCommand
 
 setup(
diff --git a/tests/sc/test_sobol.py b/tests/sc/test_sobol.py
index c1e0ca5ba..ce717a3ca 100644
--- a/tests/sc/test_sobol.py
+++ b/tests/sc/test_sobol.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 import easyvvuq as uq
 import numpy as np
 import chaospy as cp
-
+from easyvvuq.actions import CreateRunDirectory, Encode, Decode, ExecuteLocal, Actions
 
 def print_exact_sobols():
     V_i = np.zeros(d)
@@ -18,9 +18,7 @@ def print_exact_sobols():
     print('Exact 1st-order Sobol indices: ', V_i / V)
 
 
-if __name__ == '__main__':
-    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
-    plt.close('all')
+def test_sobol_basic():
 
     # number of unknown variables
     d = 5
@@ -79,20 +77,17 @@ def print_exact_sobols():
         target_filename='sobol_in.json')
     decoder = uq.decoders.SimpleCSV(target_filename=output_filename,
                                     output_columns=output_columns)
+    execute = ExecuteLocal(f"{HOME}/sobol_model.py sobol_in.json")
 
-    # Add the SC app (automatically set as current app)
-    my_campaign.add_app(name="sc",
-                        params=params,
-                        encoder=encoder,
-                        decoder=decoder)
+    actions = Actions(CreateRunDirectory(HOME),
+                  Encode(encoder), execute, Decode(decoder))
+
+    campaign = uq.Campaign(name='sc', params=params, actions=actions)
 
     # Create the sampler
     vary = {
         "x1": cp.Uniform(0.0, 1.0),
-        "x2": cp.Uniform(0.0, 1.0),
-        "x3": cp.Uniform(0.0, 1.0),
-        "x4": cp.Uniform(0.0, 1.0),
-        "x5": cp.Uniform(0.0, 1.0)}
+        "x2": cp.Uniform(0.0, 1.0)}
 
     """
     SPARSE GRID PARAMETERS
@@ -102,32 +97,23 @@ def print_exact_sobols():
       of 1D collocation points per level. Used to make e.g. clenshaw-curtis
       quadrature nested.
     """
+
     my_sampler = uq.sampling.SCSampler(vary=vary, polynomial_order=2,
                                        quadrature_rule="G", sparse=False,
                                        growth=False)
 
-    # Associate the sampler with the campaign
-    my_campaign.set_sampler(my_sampler)
+    campaign.set_sampler(my_sampler)
 
-    # Will draw all (of the finite set of samples)
-    my_campaign.draw_samples()
-    my_campaign.populate_runs_dir()
-
-    # Use this instead to run the samples using EasyVVUQ on the localhost
-    my_campaign.apply_for_each_run_dir(uq.actions.ExecuteLocal(
-        "tests/sc/sobol_model.py sobol_in.json"))
-
-    my_campaign.collate()
+    campaign.execute().collate()
 
     # Post-processing analysis
     analysis = uq.analysis.SCAnalysis(sampler=my_sampler, qoi_cols=output_columns)
 
-    my_campaign.apply_analysis(analysis)
-
-    results = my_campaign.get_last_analysis()
+    results = campaign.analyse(qoi_cols=output_columns)
 
     print(results.sobols_first())
 
-    print_exact_sobols()
+    assert results.sobols_first()["f"]["x1"] > 0.5
 
-    plt.show()
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    test_sobol_basic()
diff --git a/tests/test_action_replace.py b/tests/test_action_replace.py
index a02cb6b16..1e8f0c67b 100644
--- a/tests/test_action_replace.py
+++ b/tests/test_action_replace.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 import pytest
 
 
-@pytest.mark.skip(reason="fipy nonsense")
+###@pytest.mark.skip(reason="fipy nonsense")
 def test_action_replace():
     params = {
         "Qe_tot": {"type": "float", "min": 1.0e6, "max": 50.0e6, "default": 2e6},
diff --git a/tests/test_actions_execute_local.py b/tests/test_actions_execute_local.py
index 9c24c67be..2377e8aa6 100644
--- a/tests/test_actions_execute_local.py
+++ b/tests/test_actions_execute_local.py
@@ -5,19 +5,18 @@
 
 def test_create_run_directory(tmpdir):
     action = CreateRunDirectory(tmpdir)
-    previous = {'campaign_dir': 'test', 'run_id': 123456789, 'run_info': {'id': 123456789}}
-    previous = action.start(previous)
+    action.start({'campaign_dir': 'test', 'run_id': 123456789, 'run_info': {'id': 123456789}})
     assert (os.path.exists(
         os.path.join(
             tmpdir, 'test', 'runs', 'runs_100000000-200000000', 'runs_123000000-124000000',
             'runs_123450000-123460000', 'runs_123456700-123456800', 'run_123456789')))
-    previous = {'campaign_dir': 'test', 'run_id': 0, 'run_info': {'id': 0}}
-    previous = action.start(previous)
+    
+    action.start({'campaign_dir': 'test', 'run_id': 0, 'run_info': {'id': 0}})
     assert (os.path.exists(
         os.path.join(
             tmpdir, 'test', 'runs', 'runs_0-100000000', 'runs_0-1000000', 'runs_0-10000',
             'runs_0-100')))
-    previous = {'campaign_dir': 'test', 'run_id': 100, 'run_info': {'id': 100}}
+
     action = CreateRunDirectory(tmpdir, flatten=True)
-    previous = action.start(previous)
+    action.start({'campaign_dir': 'test', 'run_id': 100, 'run_info': {'id': 100}})
     assert (os.path.exists(os.path.join(tmpdir, 'test', 'runs', 'run_100')))
diff --git a/tests/test_actions_execute_slurm.py b/tests/test_actions_execute_slurm.py
index 014659342..7f3dce59a 100644
--- a/tests/test_actions_execute_slurm.py
+++ b/tests/test_actions_execute_slurm.py
@@ -32,6 +32,6 @@ def test_action_status_slurm(mock_subprocess_run):
     mock_subprocess_run.return_value = slurm_result
 
     action = ExecuteSLURM('tutorials/epidemic/example.slurm', '$target_dir')
-    previous = {'rundir': '/tmp'}
+    # previous = {'rundir': '/tmp'}
     # action.start(previous)
     # assert(status.job_id == '65541')
diff --git a/tests/test_analysis_qmc_analysis.py b/tests/test_analysis_qmc_analysis.py
index b32e78b4e..01dc81133 100644
--- a/tests/test_analysis_qmc_analysis.py
+++ b/tests/test_analysis_qmc_analysis.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ def test_analyse():
         "a": cp.Uniform(0.0, 1.0),
         "b": cp.Uniform(0.0, 1.0)
     }
-    sampler = QMCSampler(vary, 100)
+    sampler = QMCSampler(vary, 128)
     samples = {('run_id', 0): [], ('a', 0): [], ('b', 0): [], ('a+b', 0): []}
     for i, sample in enumerate(sampler):
         samples[('run_id', 0)].append(i)
diff --git a/tests/test_campaign.py b/tests/test_campaign.py
index 2464405ea..8164913fd 100644
--- a/tests/test_campaign.py
+++ b/tests/test_campaign.py
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@
 import os
 import logging
 import pytest
-import shutil
-from easyvvuq.db.sql import CampaignTable
 
 TEST_PATH = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))
 LOGGER = logging.getLogger(__name__)
diff --git a/tests/test_db.py b/tests/test_db.py
index 5a52d1e0b..4157db1ee 100644
--- a/tests/test_db.py
+++ b/tests/test_db.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def campaign(tmp_path, app_info):
     campaign = CampaignDB(location='sqlite:///{}/test.sqlite'.format(tmp_path))
     campaign.create_campaign(info)
     campaign.tmp_path = str(tmp_path)
-    runs = [RunInfo('run', '.', 1, {'a': 1}, 1, 1) for _ in range(1010)]
+    runs = [RunInfo('run', '.', 1, {'a': 1}, 1, 1) for _ in range(910)]
     campaign.add_runs(runs)
     campaign.add_app(app_info)
     return campaign
@@ -66,14 +66,14 @@ def test_db_file_created(campaign):
 
 
 def test_get_and_set_status(campaign):
-    run_ids = list(range(1, 1011))
+    run_ids = list(range(1, 911))
     assert (all([campaign.get_run_status(id_) == Status.NEW for id_ in run_ids]))
     campaign.set_run_statuses(run_ids, Status.ENCODED)
     assert (all([campaign.get_run_status(id_) == Status.ENCODED for id_ in run_ids]))
 
 
 def test_get_num_runs(campaign):
-    assert (campaign.get_num_runs() == 1010)
+    assert (campaign.get_num_runs() == 910)
 
 
 def test_app(campaign):
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ def test_collation(campaign):
     assert (list(result.columns) == [('run_id', 0), ('iteration', 0),
                                      ('a', 0), ('b', 0), ('c', 0), ('c', 1)])
     assert (list(result.iloc[100].values) == [101, 0, 1, 100, 101, 102])
-    assert (result.count()[0] == 1010)
+    assert (result.count()[0] == 910)
 
 
 def test_mv_collation(tmp_path, app_info):
diff --git a/tests/test_ensemble_boot.py b/tests/test_ensemble_boot.py
index fef3fb7b1..b1592eb94 100644
--- a/tests/test_ensemble_boot.py
+++ b/tests/test_ensemble_boot.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 def test_confidence_interval():
     dist = np.array([])
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
-        stat, low, high = confidence_interval(dist, 0.0, 0.05)
+        confidence_interval(dist, 0.0, 0.05)
     dist = np.array([0.0])
     stat, low, high = confidence_interval(dist, 0.0, 0.05)
     assert (stat == low == high == 0.0)
diff --git a/tests/test_mcmc.py b/tests/test_mcmc.py
index 761f0e097..e70ae949c 100644
--- a/tests/test_mcmc.py
+++ b/tests/test_mcmc.py
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@
 import numpy as np
 import chaospy as cp
 import json
-import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 import pytest
 import sys
 from easyvvuq.actions import ExecutePython, Actions
 from dask.distributed import Client
+import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 
 
 HOME = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
@@ -20,13 +20,12 @@ def rosenbrock(inputs):
     return {'value': 300.0 - y}
 
 
-@pytest.mark.skip(reason="Broke due to pandas update. See issue #393.")
+###@pytest.mark.skip(reason="Broke due to pandas update. See issue #393.")
 def test_mcmc(tmp_path):
     campaign = uq.Campaign(name="mcmc", work_dir=tmp_path)
     params = {
         "x1": {"type": "float", "default": 0.0},
         "x2": {"type": "float", "default": 0.0},
-        "out_file": {"type": "string", "default": "output.json"},
         "chain_id": {"type": "integer", "default": 0}
     }
     encoder = uq.encoders.GenericEncoder(template_fname=os.path.abspath(
@@ -50,7 +49,7 @@ def q(x, b=1):
     df = campaign.get_collation_result()
     analysis = uq.analysis.MCMCAnalysis(sampler)
     result = analysis.analyse(df)
-    result.plot_hist('x1')
-    result.plot_hist('x2')
-    result.plot_chains('x1')
-    result.plot_chains('x2')
+    plt.clf(); result.plot_hist('x1'); plt.savefig('/tmp/test_mcmc_hist_x1.png')
+    plt.clf(); result.plot_hist('x2'); plt.savefig('/tmp/test_mcmc_hist_x2.png')
+    plt.clf(); result.plot_chains('x1'); plt.savefig('/tmp/test_mcmc_chains_x1.png')
+    plt.clf(); result.plot_chains('x2'); plt.savefig('/tmp/test_mcmc_chains_x2.png')
diff --git a/tests/test_multiapp.py b/tests/test_multiapp.py
index 0c0d4ba61..e87a0469a 100644
--- a/tests/test_multiapp.py
+++ b/tests/test_multiapp.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 from easyvvuq.actions import Actions, Encode, Decode, CreateRunDirectory
 import chaospy as cp
 import os
-import sys
 import pytest
 
 __copyright__ = """
diff --git a/tests/test_multiencoder.py b/tests/test_multiencoder.py
index 8042195d1..735dd17bc 100644
--- a/tests/test_multiencoder.py
+++ b/tests/test_multiencoder.py
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 import easyvvuq as uq
 from easyvvuq.actions import Actions, Encode, Decode, CreateRunDirectory
-import chaospy as cp
 import os
-import sys
 import pytest
 
 __copyright__ = """
diff --git a/tests/test_multisampler.py b/tests/test_multisampler.py
index 9344d3947..ca83b0319 100644
--- a/tests/test_multisampler.py
+++ b/tests/test_multisampler.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 from easyvvuq.actions import Actions, Encode, Decode, CreateRunDirectory
 import chaospy as cp
 import os
-import sys
 import pytest
 
 __copyright__ = """
diff --git a/tests/test_sampling_mc.py b/tests/test_sampling_mc.py
index f0c61f75e..fe9c42c8d 100644
--- a/tests/test_sampling_mc.py
+++ b/tests/test_sampling_mc.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import pytest
 import chaospy as cp
 from easyvvuq.sampling import MCSampler
-from easyvvuq.sampling.base import Vary
 
 
 def test_sampling():
diff --git a/tests/test_sampling_qmc.py b/tests/test_sampling_qmc.py
index f76eb0bbc..6b55b1f0e 100644
--- a/tests/test_sampling_qmc.py
+++ b/tests/test_sampling_qmc.py
@@ -1,26 +1,25 @@
 import pytest
 import chaospy as cp
 from easyvvuq.sampling import QMCSampler
-from easyvvuq.sampling.base import Vary
 
 
 def test_init():
     with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
-        QMCSampler({}, 100)
+        QMCSampler({}, 128)
     with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
-        QMCSampler([], 100)
+        QMCSampler([], 128)
 
 
 def test_is_finite():
     vary = {'a': cp.Uniform(-5, 3), 'b': cp.Uniform(2, 10)}
-    sampler = QMCSampler(vary, 100)
+    sampler = QMCSampler(vary, 128)
     assert (sampler.is_finite())
 
 
 def test_sampling():
     vary = {'a': cp.Uniform(-5, 0), 'b': cp.Uniform(2, 10)}
-    sampler = QMCSampler(vary, 100)
-    assert (sampler.n_samples == 400)
+    sampler = QMCSampler(vary, 128)
+    assert (sampler.n_samples == 512)
     for _ in range(sampler.n_samples):
         sample = next(sampler)
         assert (sample['a'] >= -5 and sample['a'] <= 0)
@@ -31,8 +30,8 @@ def test_sampling():
 
 def test_resume():
     vary = {'a': cp.Uniform(-5, 0), 'b': cp.Uniform(2, 10)}
-    sampler = QMCSampler(vary, 100, 390)
-    for _ in range(10):
+    sampler = QMCSampler(vary, 128, 500)
+    for _ in range(12):
         sample = next(sampler)
     with pytest.raises(StopIteration):
         next(sampler)
diff --git a/tests/test_surrogate_workflow.py b/tests/test_surrogate_workflow.py
index 323df998b..f47df9467 100644
--- a/tests/test_surrogate_workflow.py
+++ b/tests/test_surrogate_workflow.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 from tests.sc.sobol_model import sobol_g_func
 from easyvvuq.analysis.sc_analysis import SCAnalysisResults
 from easyvvuq.actions import CreateRunDirectory, Encode, Decode, ExecuteLocal, Actions, ExecutePython
-
+import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 
 VARY = {
     "Pe": cp.Uniform(100.0, 200.0),
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 }
 
 
-@pytest.mark.skip(reason="Broke due to pandas update. See issue #395.")
+###@pytest.mark.skip(reason="Broke due to pandas update. See issue #395.")
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('sampler', [
     uq.sampling.RandomSampler(
         vary=VARY, max_num=100, analysis_class=uq.analysis.GaussianProcessSurrogate),
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ def test_surrogate_workflow(tmpdir, sampler):
         assert np.max(np.abs(surrogate_y - model_y)) < 1e-6
 
     # Attempt callibration with MCMC
+    del params['out_file']  # eliminate this (now) nuisance field
     campaign.add_app(name='surrogate', params=params, actions=Actions(ExecutePython(surrogate)))
     db_location = campaign.db_location
     campaign = None
@@ -145,6 +146,7 @@ def proposal(x):
 
     def loglikelihood(x):
         return -((u - x) ** 2).sum()
+
     init = {'Pe': [110.0], 'f': [2.0]}
     reloaded_campaign.set_sampler(uq.sampling.MCMCSampler(init, proposal, 'u', 1, loglikelihood))
     iterator = reloaded_campaign.iterate(mark_invalid=True)
@@ -154,3 +156,7 @@ def loglikelihood(x):
     assert (len(df) > 0)
     assert (len(df) <= 100)
     results = reloaded_campaign.analyse()
+    plt.clf(); results.plot_hist('Pe'); plt.savefig('/tmp/test_mcmc_hist_Pe.png')
+    plt.clf(); results.plot_hist('f'); plt.savefig('/tmp/test_mcmc_hist_f.png')
+    plt.clf(); results.plot_chains('Pe'); plt.savefig('/tmp/test_mcmc_chains_Pe.png')
+    plt.clf(); results.plot_chains('f'); plt.savefig('/tmp/test_mcmc_chains_f.png')
diff --git a/tests/test_vector.py b/tests/test_vector.py
index 7c7ffea63..bc8782eec 100644
--- a/tests/test_vector.py
+++ b/tests/test_vector.py
@@ -1,13 +1,8 @@
 import easyvvuq as uq
 import chaospy as cp
 import os
-import sys
-import pytest
 import logging
 from pprint import pformat, pprint
-from .gauss.encoder_gauss import GaussEncoder
-from .gauss.decoder_gauss import GaussDecoder
-from easyvvuq.decoders.json import JSONDecoder
 from easyvvuq.actions import Actions, Encode, Decode, CreateRunDirectory
 
 __copyright__ = """
@@ -88,7 +83,7 @@ def test_gauss_vector_sc(tmpdir):
     data = my_campaign.get_collation_result()
     analysis = uq.analysis.SCAnalysis(sampler=sampler, qoi_cols=["numbers"])
     my_campaign.apply_analysis(analysis)
-    results = my_campaign.get_last_analysis()
+    my_campaign.get_last_analysis()
 
 
 def test_gauss_vector_pce(tmpdir):
diff --git a/tutorials/easyvvuq_fusion_analysis.py b/tutorials/easyvvuq_fusion_analysis.py
index ef72d2124..b8c144882 100755
--- a/tutorials/easyvvuq_fusion_analysis.py
+++ b/tutorials/easyvvuq_fusion_analysis.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import time
 import numpy as np
 import matplotlib.pylab as plt
+import os
 
 def sobols(P, coefficients):
     A = np.array(P.coefficients)!=0
@@ -38,7 +39,13 @@ def sobols(P, coefficients):
 
 # Read an old campaign
 time_start = time.time()
-old_campaign = uq.Campaign(state_file="campaign_state.json", work_dir=".")
+<<<<<<< HEAD
+DIR = os.getenv('DIR')   ## use the environment variable DIR to store the previous campaign directory path
+old_campaign = uq.Campaign(name="fusion_pce.", db_location= f'sqlite:///{os.path.abspath(os.curdir)}/{DIR}/campaign.db')
+=======
+DIR = '[[DIR]]'   ## replace with directory containing campaign.db
+old_campaign = uq.Campaign(name="solps_pce.", db_location= f'{os.path.abspath(os.curdir)}/{DIR}/campaign.db')
+>>>>>>> 5511dc091aadfb198b8fbe22ae8b4856db35afde
 time_end = time.time()
 print('Time for phase 1 = %.3f' % (time_end-time_start))
 
diff --git a/tutorials/fusion.py b/tutorials/fusion.py
index c00cf90f8..17bf4c914 100755
--- a/tutorials/fusion.py
+++ b/tutorials/fusion.py
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ def solve_Te(Qe_tot=2e6, H0=0, Hw=0.1, Te_bc=100, chi=1, a0=1, R0=3, E0=1.5, b_p
     return Te.value, ne.value, mesh.cellCenters.value[0], mesh.cellCenters.value[0]/a
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
-    Te, ne, rho, rho_norm = solve_Te()
+    solve_Te()
 
 """
 to test:
diff --git a/versioneer.py b/versioneer.py
index 64fea1c89..5e3e79e2b 100644
--- a/versioneer.py
+++ b/versioneer.py
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ def get_root():
             print("Warning: build in %s is using versioneer.py from %s"
                   % (os.path.dirname(me), versioneer_py))
     except NameError:
-        pass
+        print('NameError raised and ignored')
     return root
 
 
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ def git_get_keywords(versionfile_abs):
                     keywords["date"] = mo.group(1)
         f.close()
     except EnvironmentError:
-        pass
+        print('EnvironmentError raised and ignored')
     return keywords
 
 
@@ -908,7 +908,7 @@ def get_versions():
         return git_versions_from_keywords(get_keywords(), cfg.tag_prefix,
                                           verbose)
     except NotThisMethod:
-        pass
+        print('NotThisMethod raised and ignored')
 
     try:
         root = os.path.realpath(__file__)
@@ -927,13 +927,13 @@ def get_versions():
         pieces = git_pieces_from_vcs(cfg.tag_prefix, root, verbose)
         return render(pieces, cfg.style)
     except NotThisMethod:
-        pass
+        print('NotThisMethod raised and ignored')
 
     try:
         if cfg.parentdir_prefix:
             return versions_from_parentdir(cfg.parentdir_prefix, root, verbose)
     except NotThisMethod:
-        pass
+        print('NotThisMethod raised and ignored')
 
     return {"version": "0+unknown", "full-revisionid": None,
             "dirty": None,
@@ -966,7 +966,7 @@ def git_get_keywords(versionfile_abs):
                     keywords["date"] = mo.group(1)
         f.close()
     except EnvironmentError:
-        pass
+        print('EnvironmentError raised and ignored')
     return keywords
 
 
@@ -1146,7 +1146,7 @@ def do_vcs_install(manifest_in, versionfile_source, ipy):
                     present = True
         f.close()
     except EnvironmentError:
-        pass
+        print('EnvironmentError raised and ignored')
     if not present:
         f = open(".gitattributes", "a+")
         f.write("%s export-subst\n" % versionfile_source)
@@ -1437,7 +1437,7 @@ def get_versions(verbose=False):
                 print("got version from expanded keyword %s" % ver)
             return ver
         except NotThisMethod:
-            pass
+            print('NotThisMethod raised and ignored')
 
     try:
         ver = versions_from_file(versionfile_abs)
@@ -1445,7 +1445,7 @@ def get_versions(verbose=False):
             print("got version from file %s %s" % (versionfile_abs, ver))
         return ver
     except NotThisMethod:
-        pass
+        print('NotThisMethod raised and ignored')
 
     from_vcs_f = handlers.get("pieces_from_vcs")
     if from_vcs_f:
@@ -1456,7 +1456,7 @@ def get_versions(verbose=False):
                 print("got version from VCS %s" % ver)
             return ver
         except NotThisMethod:
-            pass
+            print('NotThisMethod raised and ignored')
 
     try:
         if cfg.parentdir_prefix:
@@ -1465,7 +1465,7 @@ def get_versions(verbose=False):
                 print("got version from parentdir %s" % ver)
             return ver
     except NotThisMethod:
-        pass
+        print('NotThisMethod raised and ignored')
 
     if verbose:
         print("unable to compute version")
@@ -1750,7 +1750,8 @@ def do_setup():
                     for include in line.split()[1:]:
                         simple_includes.add(include)
     except EnvironmentError:
-        pass
+        print('EnvironmentError raised and ignored')
+
     # That doesn't cover everything MANIFEST.in can do
     # (http://docs.python.org/2/distutils/sourcedist.html#commands), so
     # it might give some false negatives. Appending redundant 'include'