A Walkthrough of Our Most Basic Analysis Service

The Translational Informatics Unit (TiU) conducts a broadly-based feasibility assessment before beginning any new collaboration. Typically, a TiU analyst reviews your organization's needs and maturity, existing technologies, and resources available to support long-term implementation and successful day-to-day operation. In many ways, the analyst is embedded within your research group to optimize every aspect of the project.

The analyst provides a global view of organizational needs and resources, and the anticipated cost for both immediate implementation and long-term growth opportunities. The global view takes into account other Stokes Institute groups that already have systems deployed or are reviewing similar applications. This approach ensures that the solution chosen for each facility benefits from previous advances and Institute-wide systems integration.

Discovery:

An analyst from TiU reviews current workflows and systems through interviews with stakeholders to determine role-based requirements.

Organization:

Most laboratories have developed a way of capturing, archiving, sharing and using information that works for their members, but may not be the most sustainable solution on a larger scale. The TiU analyst establishes the level of organizational development necessary to achieve a successful system implementation relative to the current roles and responsibilities of the lab's members. As a result of this review, the analyst may suggest changing individuals' responsibilities or adding personnel for optimal operation of the system. This information is used to determine if the lab is ready for implementation of a more integrated, sustainable system.

Technology Selection:

In most cases, the analyst quickly identifies technologies that meet the needs of the laboratory. In addition, the analyst uses resources within Children's Hospital and the larger community, including CTSA network contacts, to determine the specific product or service that is most likely to accommodate the larger enterprise in terms of interoperability and complexity.

Vendor Selection and Mediation:

Research groups often do not have the expertise necessary to determine whether a vendor's solution meets all of the group's requirements. Application demonstrations and walkthroughs are typically pre-packaged to maximize the product's utility and minimize its shortcomings, requiring an expert to determine its the true value. Traditional information technology groups are able to understand hardware and software deployment and maintenance issues, but they will likely not be able to identify shortcomings in the application's function.

Your TiU analyst facilitates communication with defined vendors who offer the technology that is the best fit for your group. The final determination of the vendor's product or service is achieved by combining all elements of the analyst's knowledge base, the input of the lab staff and IT groups, and external recommendations from the CTSA network or other entities.

Custom Solution Development:

When an off-the-shelf system cannot meet a lab's needs, the analyst facilitates creation of a custom solution. Where appropriate, the analyst manages a TiU development project or directs the outsourced development of the solution. TiU staff use a disciplined software development lifecycle process, and have experience with CFR 21 part 11 compliance. TiU development includes full validation and testing, and is supported by best-of-breed software development and quality assurance tools.

Resource and Costing Analysis:

Solutions may require both short- and long-term development, licensing, maintenance fees and support. Vendor solutions may also require customization that the vendor will provide under a services contract. In many cases, these costs may be shared by other laboratories that are pursuing the same goals. The analyst provides rough estimates of these costs given the current state of both the individual laboratory and the overall Hospital research community.