Plant Genotyping Management System

Overview

SciMed was approached in 2019 to build the Plant Genotyping Management System in order to help the client manage their process for genotyping information of plant genetic samples. Prior to approaching SciMed, the client was using an in-house solution that wasn’t able to support all of their needs and was time consuming for staff to use.

Challenges

For this project, the client was aiming to build a system to replace their existing system for managing information from their plant genetic samples. Their challenges in building the new system were to:

• Ensure the application was easy to maintain and enhance

• Incorporate existing functionalities that were working well, phase out ones that weren’t, and concept new ones

• Migrate existing data into the new application

• Support different file types and formats

Our approach

We kicked off work on the Plant Genotyping Management System in 2019. The client’s goal was to create a scalable system to improve their process of managing genotyping information of plant genetic samples. We started by analyzing the client’s existing application in order to gain a better understanding of what problems they were currently facing, where they encountered bottlenecks, and what additional features would be required in the new solution.

After gaining an understanding of what the client was previously working with and where they wanted to go, we began designing their application, starting with the client’s top priority: supporting a multi-file import where the files were of different types and formats. After building this and other new features, we began iterating upon useful existing features and phasing out unuseful or clunky ones. Rather than completely wiping out the old features, we expanded upon their functionality to make data management easier for the client.

Finally, we migrated existing data from their previous application to the new one so that the client didn’t lose any valuable legacy information. After launching the product in 2019, we’ve worked with the client to help maintain and enhance the system.

Results

The Plant Genotyping Management System was launched at the end of 2019 and has greatly enhanced the client’s ability to manage genotyping information of plant genetic samples. With the launch of their new application, they’ve been able to:

• Easily maintain and add new functionalities to their application as needs arise

• Efficiently import data

• Organize, analyze, and manage research data at scale