Design and implementation suggestions / improvements

[bnonni]

Much of the code in this repo has been designed "on the fly" during implementation. It would be nice to get feedback on various parts of the codebase to improve its overall design. Questions to ask/answer w.r.t. the code base:

• Are there parts that are confusing or don't make sense?
• Are there parts that seem overly complex?
• How could we simplify any complex parts?
• Where could we consolidate redundant code?
• Is the package difficult to use? If so, what could be done to make it easier?

Any general or specific suggestions for improvement are desired.