Improving Usability of Bioinformatics Software with an Integrated Web Tool System for Cancer Diagnostics

Abstract: Precision cancer medicine is an area of research that involves complex bioinformatics software for the clinical analysis pipelines that sequencing data is passed through. A research team at Karolinska Institutet (KI) is running clinical trials to test new methods of precision cancer medicine and is working on creating a new web application that will be integrated with their two existing applications to aid bioinformaticians in their work of running pipelines and producing clinical reports for the hospitals. Recent publications show that web tools are used for improving usability of bioinformatics software, but have not discussed the inclusion of pipeline management into these systems. This study aims at exploring how the new web system can impact the complexity of the daily work within the trials for users with limited computational experience. This was done by developing a high-fidelity prototype of the new application using a user-centred design approach that included agile design work, usability tests and a focus group with the bioinformaticians at KI. The test sessions and focus group discussion indicate that the new application can speed up the weekly batch-wise sample processing by decreasing the need for users to interact with the command-line. It is also suggested that an integration of different applications can lead to a more efficient workflow within the team. The implication for the development of bioinformatics tools is that there are potentially important benefits to be found in making more usable interfaces for users with different experiences and areas of expertise.