How usable is Galaxy? A usability evaluation of Galaxy
Ngoc-Huy Truong, Daniel Brand, Rul von Stülpnagel · 2019
Due to its open-source, free, and web-based nature, Galaxy is accessible to a broad range of researchers and users. With Galaxy, complex analyses of large bioinformatic datasets can be performed without the requirement for advanced knowledge in informatics. However, since Galaxy is a highly complex software with a wide range of tools and functionalities, it remains unclear how usable Galaxy is for its target audience. In order to reduce the remaining barriers to use Galaxy (or in other words to improve its usability), we conducted a usability evaluation. Our goal was to find out how usable Galaxy is perceived by its current users, which usability problems occur during a typical use case and how to improve Galaxy's user interface. The evaluation was two-folded: 1) In a quantitative approach, we conducted a questionnaire survey to get a broader view of Galaxy's overall usability and its relationship to other psychological constructs (e.g. feeling of competence). 2) In a qualitative approach, test users were invited to perform typical tasks while using Galaxy and to verbalize their thinking process while conducting the tasks. This think-aloud method enables the researcher to identify major usability issues. All in all, users were comfortable using Galaxy and tend to have a positive attitude towards the software and its features. Nonetheless, some major usability issues exist which were perceived as frustrating by some users (e.g. searching and finding the correct tool for one's own purposes or the presentation of search results). Detailed results and recommendations will be provided in our presentation.