2024
Biorelate
biorelate.com
OVERVIEW
Biorelate transforms biomedical data into actionable insights, empowering researchers to analyze complex data through AI. As part of their flagship product Galactic Web, I designed Cause and Effect Paths — an interactive visualization tool that helps users explore mechanistic pathways and understand relationships between data points with ease.
Note: Designs and details have been changed to align with the terms of the NDA.
TEAM
Product Designer, 2x Front-end Engineers, Product Manager, Biocurators and Our Users
KEY RESULTS
CONTEXT
A Fragmented Experience in Biomedical Data
Galactic Web was designed to help researchers analyze biomedical data, but without visualization tools like Cause and Effect Paths, exploring relationships between proteins and biomarkers was time-consuming and prone to errors.
The absence of a clear visual structure made verifying interactions difficult, leading to frustration and inefficiency. Users were spending hours cross-referencing data sources to confirm a single pathway.
The challenge wasn’t just creating a visualization tool—it was designing an experience that could simplify data navigation while remaining adaptable to Biorelate’s rapidly evolving needs
problem statement
To stay organized and collaborate effectively, we used GitLab for task management and version control. We had daily standups to keep everyone on the same page and weekly catch-ups with product managers and engineers to ensure things were moving smoothly. We also kept communication open through Slack and shared docs to keep everything transparent and easy to access.
research
Clearing the fog
User interviews - what our current user base was saying
The company had an established user base of researchers and data scientists, but there was a need to better understand their workflows and challenges.
To address this, I led a series of 12 user interviews, gathering insights on their pain points and uncovering opportunities for improvement. Through this research, I identified key friction points in pathway exploration and validated assumptions about user needs.
These findings informed design decisions, ensuring the product aligned with real-world use cases and enhanced the overall user experience.
Competitive Landscape & Benchmarking
I handled the competitive analysis for Galactic Web, comparing it to competitors like Causaly and nference, while staying in close touch with the product manager. Benchmarking was done to measure the platform’s performance against industry standards and best practices. The SWOT analysis highlighted the platform’s strengths, like its AI-powered pathway exploration, and identified areas for growth. The user journey was mapped out, and features were compared to ensure the product stays competitive and meets user needs.
Key Findings
Data Organization Needs Improvement: Users struggled with managing large datasets and required better filtering options for efficient exploration.
Need for Visualization: Users expressed a strong desire for better visualization features to help them interpret and analyze complex data more easily.
To stay organized and collaborate effectively, we used GitLab for task management and version control. We had daily standups to keep everyone on the same page and weekly catch-ups with product managers and engineers to ensure things were moving smoothly. We also kept communication open through Slack and shared docs to keep everything transparent and easy to access.
IDEATION
Refining concepts and prioritizing ideas
During the ideation process, we focused on generating ideas and exploring potential solutions based on the insights gathered. We started by creating user personas to better understand our target audience and their needs. Then, we developed the Customer Journey Maps to visualize the user’s experience, identify pain points, and uncover opportunities for improvement.
We brainstormed multiple design directions, sketching and wireframing concepts to explore different solutions. Collaborating closely with the team, we refined our ideas and mapped out user flows to ensure smooth, intuitive navigation throughout the product. After gathering feedback from stakeholders and team members.
After gathering feedback from stakeholders and team members, we prioritized the best solutions and created low-fidelity prototypes to test and validate our concepts before moving forward.
design system
Scalable Design System with Chakra UI for Galactic Web
We chose Chakra UI to build the design system for Galactic Web because it gave us a great starting point while keeping things flexible. The pre-built components helped us keep the design consistent across the app, and using Chakra UI sped up development, so we could focus on building out the more complex features.
Final solution
Design for business impact
A Personalized and Powerful Search Experience
The Galactic Web homepage serves as the central hub for research activities. A prominent search bar enables users to initiate explorations with ease, while recent searches and curated collections provide convenient access to ongoing projects. The "Advanced Search" feature allows for refined queries, ensuring researchers can efficiently identify the most relevant information. The personalized design increases user engagement and accelerates the pace of discovery.
Visualizing Cause and Effect
The Cause and Effect Paths (CAEP) feature allows researchers to visually map intricate relationships between different factors. As illustrated in the example of breast cancer treatments and heart failure risk, CAEP enables users to quickly grasp the potential consequences of specific interventions, supporting data-driven decision-making and hypothesis generation. This functionality is crucial for researchers investigating multifactorial diseases or complex biological processes.
Personalized Bookmarking
Galactic Web’s bookmarking feature empowers users to organize and curate relevant research findings efficiently. Researchers can save articles, data sets, and specific search queries into categorized collections, facilitating quick access to critical information and streamlining their workflow. The export to CSV functionality further enhances collaboration and data sharing.
A Centralized Help Center
Galactic Web's Help Center provides users with seamless access to comprehensive documentation, FAQs, and support resources. This reduces friction in the research process and ensures users can quickly find answers to their questions, maximizing their efficiency and platform adoption.
impact and results
The redesign of Galactic Web, including the addition of Cause and Effect Paths, resulted in significant improvements:
50% faster hypothesis validation, enabling researchers to save valuable time.
88% task success rate, with users expressing increased confidence in their findings.
25% growth in subscriptions, driven by an enhanced data exploration experience.
quote
"Biorelate has managed to provide a user-friendly tool to Idorsia scientists to cope with the massive amount of biomedical literature and more efficiently discover relevant aspects for our projects to speed up processes."
Peter Groenen. Head of Translational Biomarkers - Idorsia Pharmaceuticals
conclusion and learnings
Prioritizing user needs and clear data visualization can drive significant improvements in both usability and engagement, while iterative design ensures continuous optimization. These changes highlight the direct link between thoughtful design and business success.
Collaboration with the team played a crucial role in the success of this project. By working closely with developers, product managers, and biocurators, we were able to align on goals, iterate quickly, and ensure the final product effectively addressed user needs while meeting business objectives.
