Challenge and Selection:  Visualization

I work in an IT department of a pharmaceutical company and part of our projects is to prepare data for  scientists such that they can include it in their hypothesis process. Such projects can also be called  Literature Based Discovery (LBD) projects.

When I was recently asked if I wanted to work on a new LBD project, I didn't hesitate to join the group.  However, after the first conversation it soon became clear that our established methods would not work  here. We had a huge toolbox, which offered different solutions to various problems, but we had nothing in  our toolbox, which could only contribute in part to the success of this LBD project. I was surprised that we  didn't foresee such a project and therefore didn't extend our toolbox. The question that came up here was  whether this was an “one off" LBD project request that was only relevant for a very small group of  scientists, or whether other groups of scientists would follow.

Application

For this reason, I suggested first to find and determine what exactly one would like to achieve with this  LBD project type, and in a further step, one should see how one could achieve it. This knowledge should  then help to make decisions about which new tools to include in our toolbox. We decided to sketch as  much as possible and afterwards to capture the pictures. We didn't want to create functional  specifications, but to visualize the problem in conversations with future users.

We mainly worked on electronic whiteboards because we were on different sites. We played through  different scenarios and then photographed them. We thought about the output of future new LBD project  types and decided to produce "synthetic" data as input to such a hypothetical LBD project. This would  very time consuming but the results were very helpful for the next visualization exercise. We created new  "synthetic" reports based on this data and these could be reviewed in virtual whiteboard sessions.

Insight and Approach

After all we had a good understanding of the new tools we would have to develop in order to implement  this new type of LBD project. The visualization of the processes using "synthetic" data helped everyone to  experience "live" what it means to have the data and what questions could be answered. On the basis of  this knowledge, decisions could be made about which tools to add to the toolbox. Based on the play- through process, one can assume that we have selected the relevant tools.

It must be said that the creation of "synthetic" data involves a great deal of effort. We were therefore only  able to create a very small dataset because we were limited in time. However, it turned out afterwards  that the whiteboard discussions with the synthetic data helped a lot to get a "more holistic" overview. All  participants were able to experience live what new possibilities they would have if they had the data in  front of them.


Challenge and Selection : Visualization I work in an IT department of a pharmaceutical company and part of our projects is to prepare data for scientists such that they can include it in their hypothesis process . Such projects can also be called Literature Based Discovery ( LBD ) projects . When I was recently asked if I wanted to work on a new LBD project , I did n't hesitate to join the group . However , after the first conversation it soon became clear that our established methods would not work here . We had a huge toolbox , which offered different solutions to various problems , but we had nothing in our toolbox , which could only contribute in part to the success of this LBD project . I was surprised that we did n't foresee such a project and therefore did n't extend our toolbox . The question that came up here was whether this was an “ one off " LBD project request that was only relevant for a very small group of scientists , or whether other groups of scientists would follow . Application For this reason , I suggested first to find and determine what exactly one would like to achieve with this LBD project type , and in a further step , one should see how one could achieve it . This knowledge should then help to make decisions about which new tools to include in our toolbox . We decided to sketch as much as possible and afterwards to capture the pictures . We did n't want to create functional specifications , but to visualize the problem in conversations with future users . We mainly worked on electronic whiteboards because we were on different sites . We played through different scenarios and then photographed them . We thought about the output of future new LBD project types and decided to produce " synthetic " data as input to such a hypothetical LBD project . This would very time consuming but the results were very helpful for the next visualization exercise . We created new " synthetic " reports based on this data and these could be reviewed in virtual whiteboard sessions . Insight and Approach After all we had a good understanding of the new tools we would have to develop in order to implement this new type of LBD project . The visualization of the processes using " synthetic " data helped everyone to experience " live " what it means to have the data and what questions could be answered . On the basis of this knowledge , decisions could be made about which tools to add to the toolbox . Based on the play- through process , one can assume that we have selected the relevant tools . It must be said that the creation of " synthetic " data involves a great deal of effort . We were therefore only able to create a very small dataset because we were limited in time . However , it turned out afterwards that the whiteboard discussions with the synthetic data helped a lot to get a " more holistic " overview . All participants were able to experience live what new possibilities they would have if they had the data in front of them .