pims interaction design ed daniel & susy griffiths 18 th june 2008
TRANSCRIPT
What is the problem with PiMS ?
• PiMS is too cumbersome for most people– too many clicks to get to relevant information– cluttered with other peoples’ information– cluttered with irrelevant information– takes too long to enter data
• Much easier to use a lab book – or spreadsheets/ word documents
• Can we make PiMS more attractive to use?
The Plan
• Use a cast of characters ‘personas’ – not real people, models representing who we
are designing for
• List their goals– including what they don’t want
• Design the interactions to achieve these goals– avoiding the ‘unwanted side-effects’
• Implement the solution(s)
Dr Mary Jones -senior postdoc
• Responsible for day-to-day running of ≥ 1 project– planning and doing experiments
• Introduces /develops new technologies for lab• Supervises PhD student(s)’ projects• Reports to Fiona Brownlee (PI)• Usually has up-to-date software on computer
with customization/ plugins etc.• Collaborates with people outside group
Dr Mary Jones -senior postdoc
Goals 1:
• Easy Access to ≥ 1 project :– Doesn’t want to use separate logins for each project.
• wants a single username and password
– Wants to choose Project to use for current work.• for recording new data, generating reports
– Sometimes wants to see the information recorded for all Projects simultaneously.
• to compare progress in all• generate reports –custom overview /scoreboard (ish)
– Needs access to PhD student’s (Julia) PiMS
Dr Mary Jones -senior postdoc
Goals 2:
• Wants easy recording of lab data:– Targets /Constructs /Experiments– no more time-consuming than using a lab-book– customisable
• Wants to record project background data – grant proposals, references
• Needs to record new methods and Technologies– updatable flexible templates
• Would like to define workflows– for use by other lab members– transferable to other PiMS /accessible by others using same
PiMS• Likes to customise her ‘environment’
Mr Gunther Spiegelmann-lab technician
• Responsible for the day-to-day running of the labor just a particular process – e.g. fermentation /purification
• Reports to and is directed by Fiona Brownlee (PI) and /or Mary Jones (Postdoc )
• Maintains lab resources /inventories– e.g. reagent stocks and ordering
• Maintains communal records– strains, clones, COSHH etc.
Mr Gunther Spiegelmann-lab technician
Goals:
• To be able to import existing lab data:– pre-formatted spreadsheets for ‘bulk’ uploads– custom forms for stock records
• To have a clear plan of work to do:– instructions /TODO list updated by Fiona and Mary
• To be able to monitor levels of lab reagents etc.:
• To be able to track locations of stocks and lab samples:– use of barcoding
Professor Fiona Brownlee-head of lab
• Responsible for securing funding• Expects weekly/monthly reports from lab
members – with graphs /figures etc.
• Needs to see an overview of the lab activities• Travels a lot so needs remote access to lab data
Professor Fiona Brownlee-head of lab
Goals:• To receive Lab reports:
– from post-docs, PhD students, technician
• Needs up-to-date overview:– progress from all projects and individual ones– information about trends, timelines, successes &
failures
• Ability to assign work:– especially to Gunther (technician) and Julia (PhD
student)
Ms Julia Williams-PhD student
• Supervised day-to-day by Mary Jones
• Reports to Mary (post-doc) and Fiona (PI)
• Encouraged to use PiMS from day 1– little previous experience of lab work /recording data
• Julia’s PiMS should be accessible by Mary & Fiona
Ms Julia Williams-PhD student
Goals:
• To have simple data input procedures:– expects to use pre-defined protocols /workflows developed by
Mary– printed versions for use at the bench– ‘progressive disclosure’ record minimal data with options for
extra details
• To be able to produce reports easily:– should be able to produce progress reports for lab meetings– including simple graphs, gel images etc.
Dr Harry Lyons-Independent Research Fellow
• Independently funded post-doc– runs own lab & research project(s)– doesn’t report to a PI but has joint lab-meetings with
the Brownlee lab
• Collaborates with Fiona Brownlee / Mary Jones• Does not like installing software
– but is a competent user of ‘familiar’ applications (MS)– also uses some specialized software– irritated when the UI changes
Dr Harry Lyons-Independent Research Fellow
Goals:• Restricted Access:
– only Harry should have access to Harry’s data
• Bookmarking:– on Monday morning, Harry doesn’t want to have to search for
what he was recording on Friday
• Consistent formats:– likes to know at a glance what he is looking at– wants to see a specific ‘view’ when he logs in
• To have ‘useful’ relevant information to hand– summary tables of selected ‘Target’ information
Mr Jim Smith-sys admin / site administrator
• Looks after PiMS installation(s)– installation, updates, back-up, support– may need to merge data between PiMS installations
• Not at all PiMS locations– roles may need to be performed by non-IT specialist
• Biol/Chem background but not essential
• Compiles usage statistics
Mr Jim Smith-sys admin / site administrator
Goals:
• Wants easy installation procedure:– shouldn’t have to think about installing a web server, a database
etc.
• May need to merge data between PiMSs:– export and import data between PiMS installations
• To be able to upload details from spreadsheets:– lab member details with auto-generated passwords
• Wants an ‘admin’ perspective – access to logs of PiMS for setting up accounts, updates, back-up,
statistics etc.– should be usable by non-IT specialist
Key concepts:
• Looks and ‘feels’ like a lab book
• Everything is a page in the lab book
• Better than a lab book:– easier to find information– easier to exchange information– security
Relevant to all……..
• Consistent appearance– resembles a page in a lab-book
• PiMS provides some modifiable templates• new templates can be extracted from pages
– Icons & dates• use clear icons wherever it makes sense to do so
e.g. big icon at the top of the page• all pages should display the date –when the page was made
– Use the same UI widgets throughout. • don’t show several different kinds of box, or list
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Relevant to all……..2
• Consistent appearance (cont)– Viewing experiments
• the standard view of an experiment should make sense in all cases.
• but I should also be able to provide a template for displaying certain kinds of experiment
– e.g. “all experiments done using X protocol”.
Scale-up: 22222Basic details
Construct:Date: UM4342.NFeb 23rd, 2007
Protocol: My scale-up protocol
Inputs
Parameters
Outputs
Files
Flow chart
Clear “type” icon in the top right
corner
Diagram inline, in collapsible
box
(Header bar not shown)
Context menus throughout
20th March 2009
Other pages
My notes
Targets and constructs
UM4343
UM4342.N
UM4342
Experiments
PCR_2223
PCR_2222
PCR_2223
Cloning_4423
Calendar icon – take care not to make it look like a “real” calendar
Possibly, way to expand plates and groups,
showing individual expts.
Relevant to all……..3
• Configurability– PiMS should let me decide what I see when I log in:
• a page of “bricks” (with the bricks of my choice)• my to-do list• today’s diary page• my targets• the results of a custom search• the page where I left off• my recently done tasks (MRU)
– I should be able to decide what is displayed when I click “Home”
Relevant to all……..4
• Finding my data– I shouldn’t have to search for things. The right
information should be available where I need it, without additional clutter
– I should be able to see a list of my most recently viewed or used items, at any point
• ideally, I should be able to perform basic actions on these items.
– I should be able to find some information without leaving the page
• e.g. pop-up searches, auto-complete boxes, mini-views inside context menus
tri
Search:
Tristan Smith
My bottle of tris
View Delete
Edit
Role: Head scientistGroups: Admins Managers
Search box in upper rightUI convention
Auto-complete, after ~3 characters
Order of items needs thought:- Group all of same type?- “begins with”, then “contains”?
Context menus available- Note the basic info
Relevant to all……..5
• Finding my data (cont)– When I do want to search for something, I
know what I want to search for• let me define my own search criteria
– I should be able to save the search criteria for future use
– I don’t just want ‘View all’
SearchAdvanced search
Search
Search for
From any date
(anything)
Search terms
Before and
Before days ago
Further narrow search by date –
default to “any date”
Default search – find any record, searching in all
fields
SearchAdvanced search
Search
Search for
From any date
Experiments
(any)StatusName
(any)Type (any)Protocol
Before and
Before days ago
If “Experiments” selected, show
experiment-specific search
fields
Similar for target, construct, etc.
SearchAdvanced search
Search
Search for
From any date
Experiments
(any)StatusName
PCRType (any)Protocol
Before and
Before days ago
Annealing temperature less than and
If experiment type selected, show fields for
common parameters
SearchAdvanced search
Search
Search for
From any date
Experiments
(any)StatusName
PCRType My PCR 2Protocol
Before and
Before days ago
Annealing temperature less than and
Intermediate hold time less than and
If protocol selected, show
fields for protocol-specific
parameters
Search results
SearchBefore days agoOn loading
search results, auto-scroll to results table
PCR2002
Name Date Annealingtemperature
16/4/2008 83
PCR2003 16/4/2008 85
PCR2012 16/4/2008 82
PCR2013 16/4/2008 85
PCR2111 16/4/2008 82
PCR2123 16/4/2008 85
PCR2125 18/4/2008 85
PCR2425 18/4/2008 85
Columns relate to specific
search terms used
Relevant to all……..5
• Filtering data– set up one or more filters, to hide irrelevant data
• e.g. show me constructs recorded in the last 3 months• e.g. show only items related to a certain group of targets
– a filter should remain until I choose to remove it• if I log out, or if the server is restarted, my filter should remain
in place
– PiMS should provide some basic default filters
– as I modify a filter, I should be able to see its effect on the number of records returned
Relevant to all……..6
• Deletion, mistakes, and recovery– I’m going to make mistakes
• let me recover from them• give me an “undo” wherever possible, especially
when the action is large.
– Don’t “delete” things• put them in the bin so I can get them out later• I’ll empty the bin when I feel like it.
• http://alistapart.com/articles/neveruseawarning