Software —
Training activity: 10

Details

Produce appropriate documentation for a pipeline, provide training and gather user feedback

Type

Developmental training activity (DTA)

Evidence requirements

Evidence the activity has been undertaken by the trainee​.

Reflection on the activity at one or more time points after the event including learning from the activity and/or areas of the trainees practice for development.

An action plan to implement learning and/or to address skills or knowledge gaps identified.

Considerations

• Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Local practice
• Validation documentation
• User training
• Engaging with stakeholders

Reflective practice guidance

The guidance below is provided to support reflection at different time points, providing you with questions to aid you to reflect for this training activity. They are provided for guidance and should not be considered as a mandatory checklist. Trainees should not be expected to provide answers to each of the guidance questions listed.

Before action

• Considering your initial experience with pipeline validation. How has your understanding of the principles of validation, including the use of validation data and the assessment of sensitivity and specificity, evolved through later activities or learning about quality assurance in a clinical laboratory?
• Have you encountered different approaches to validation or learned about specific validation metrics used in clinical bioinformatics since completing this training activity?
• Compare the validation data you used in this training activity to the types of data used for validation in other contexts you have encountered. What have you learned about the characteristics of effective validation datasets?
• Consider the critical role of validation in ensuring the clinical utility and reliability of bioinformatics pipelines used for diagnostic purposes. How does your experience in this training activity inform your appreciation of the need for rigorous validation?
• How will your developing skills in software validation contribute to your ability to develop and deploy bioinformatics pipelines that meet the required standards for clinical use?

In action

• What aspects of the pipeline are you choosing to document? What level of detail are you including, and why?
• As you create the documentation, are you anticipating the needs and understanding of the intended users? Are there any areas where the documentation might be unclear? How are you addressing this?
• During the training, how are you adapting your delivery to the audience’s level of understanding and engagement? What questions are they asking, and how are you responding?
• As you gather user feedback, what themes or recurring points are emerging? How are you interpreting this feedback in the moment?
• Based on the initial feedback, are there any immediate adjustments you can make to the documentation or training approach to improve clarity or address concerns?

On action

• What key aspects of the pipeline did you document? What was the user feedback you received during and after the training? Were there any common questions or areas of confusion? What did you notice about the users’ understanding?
• What did you learn about the importance of clear documentation and effective training in software deployment and usability? How did user feedback highlight areas for improvement in your documentation or training approach? What skills related to technical communication, training delivery, and user engagement did you develop or improve? How did your reflect-in-action during the documentation creation and training delivery (e.g., adapting to user questions) influence the effectiveness of your communication?
• What will you take from this experience regarding how to create effective software documentation, deliver engaging training, and utilise user feedback for continuous improvement?
• How did you manage version control during the development of your tool or pipeline? What systems (e.g., Git) or strategies (e.g., commit messages, branching, tagging) did you use to track changes and collaborate effectively? What did you learn about the importance of versioning for reproducibility, collaboration, and auditability in a clinical context?

Beyond action

• Reflect on your experience of creating documentation, delivering training, and gathering user feedback. How has your understanding of effective communication with different stakeholders and the importance of user-centred design evolved through subsequent experiences where you had to communicate technical information or solicit feedback?
• Have you learned about different documentation styles, training techniques, or methods for gathering and incorporating user feedback since completing this training activity?
• Review the user feedback you initially gathered. In light of your subsequent experiences, do you now have a different perspective on that feedback or how you might address it?
• Consider the importance of clear documentation and effective training for the successful adoption and sustainability of bioinformatics tools in a clinical setting. How does your experience in this training activity highlight these needs?
• How will your developing skills in technical communication, training delivery, and user engagement contribute to your ability to effectively deploy and support bioinformatics solutions in your future practice?

Relevant learning outcomes

#	Outcome
# 5	Outcome Identify and ensure the needs of stakeholders and patients are met in the development of software, maintaining patient safety and confidentiality.
# 6	Outcome Appraise the application of the software development and management cycle in a healthcare environment.