DNANexus Case Study
Role
UX Designer
What is DNANexus?
A cloud-based genome informatics and data management platform for DNA sequence/genomic data. DNAnexus accelerates genomic medicine by making it easier to work with genomic data and tools.
Problem
Users have difficulty understanding current job running processes at a quick glance (i.e., what is running/failed/completed). Users must descend (click multiple layers down) into working directories to find status information.
Solution
Enable users to see all running/completed/failed jobs on their dashboard at a glance using simple progress bars and visual status indicators. This eliminates the need to navigate through multiple directory levels to understand job status.
Design Process
From user research to iterative testing and implementation
Current State Analysis
Job running processes are difficult to understand at a quick glance. Users must descend into working directories to find the information they need.
First Iteration
Adding pertinent job data to the home screen for each project with simple visual indicators.
Second Iteration
Enhanced status indication with progress bars showing where running jobs are in their workflow.
Enhanced Navigation Solution
Added a "Jobs" tab in the top navigation, plus left-hand navigation menu mirroring the "Projects" choices to list all jobs, your jobs, and shared jobs.
Impact
- • Navigation significantly improved
- • Reduced clicks to find pertinent information
- • Users have better understanding of current job status
- • Enhanced ease of use for genomic workflows
This was a rapid one-evening design sprint to demonstrate UX improvements using standard process methodology.