consider using renv

[laijasmine]

Since we re-install awardsBot to the server with every new release, it might be useful to have something like renv in place so the versions of packages used locally to test are consistent with what will be installed on awards bot - https://rstudio.github.io/renv/articles/renv.html.

• Having the minimum package versions in the description only solves part of the problem.
• There are some packages like slackr that are being worked on regularly might have breaking changes that we might not have been keeping up with all the time - https://github.com/mrkaye97/slackr/releases/tag/v3.0.0
• Easier for someone new picking up awardsBot for the first time

[m13v]

renv solves the reproducibility surface (local and server resolve the same lockfile) but the slackr problem you flagged sits on a different one. renv pins a version, it doesn't watch for the breaking change that makes you want to bump. so v3.0.0 lands, your lockfile happily stays on 2.x, and 'keeping up' still falls back to someone manually reading slackr's releases page. the lockfile gives you a safe floor to upgrade from, but the awareness step (a dep shipped something that breaks our usage) isn't a renv job, it leaks back to whoever remembers to check the changelog.