Jul 24, 2025 · Lina L. Faller, Ph.D. · Quick Take 0 · Original Source

Design Docs for Bioinformatics

Should we be designing bioinformatics projects like a software engineer?

Share:

Related Posts

View All Posts »

Project requirements document with an ‘Out of Scope’ section. Checklist shows PowerPoint export, real‑time data updates, and mobile responsive design marked as not in scope, with a note that these items are expected in Phase 2.

The Explicit Out-of-Scope Section: My Secret Weapon for Project Trust

Transparency isn't just about what's included, it's about naming what's out of scope.

Separation of Concerns diagram showing a monolithic script on the left that performs at least six functions to analyze RNA-seq data versus modular components on the right that separates these functions into distinct parts. The box below the diagram lists the key benefits of modular code: flexibility, testing, scalability, reusability, collaboration, and maintainability.

The Software Engineering Principle No One Teaches in Bioinformatics

Each part of your code should have one job and do it well.

Diagram comparing two bioinformatics career modes: Firefighter (reactive, quick responses to urgent questions) versus Architect (proactive, building scalable systems)

Reactive vs Proactive Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics enlightment occurs when one can regonize it has two main modes: reactive and proactive

Festive holiday tree decorated with bioinformatics pipeline error messages, representing the chaos of debugging during the holiday season

The Twelve Days of Scale-Up

A festive tune of crashed jobs caroling in the key of why.