Remote Lab Scheduling

Overview

A platform for remote scheduling of laboratory experiments and instant access to reports. Biotech researchers need to configure instrument runs, track progress across multiple experiments, and retrieve structured results — all without being physically present. The challenge was to make scheduling intuitive and reports immediately actionable.

The Challenge

Laboratory researchers spend significant time physically present in the lab just to schedule instrument runs and collect results. Experiment reports were scattered across different systems, making it difficult to compare outcomes or share findings with collaborators. The platform needed to unify scheduling and reporting into a single, accessible interface.

Research & Discovery

I ran on-site expert interviews to understand how researchers plan experiments and consume results. We mapped out the full lifecycle — from configuring an experiment to reviewing the final report.

Key insights:

• Researchers think in protocols, not features — the scheduling UI needed to mirror their mental model
• Reports need to surface key metrics first, with the option to drill into raw data
• Trust in remote scheduling depends on real-time status updates and clear error states when something goes wrong

Exploration & Ideation

Armed with research findings, I explored multiple directions for the scheduling flow. The core tension was between flexibility (researchers want control over every parameter) and simplicity (they don’t want to configure 40 fields every time).

We landed on a template-based approach: researchers create reusable experiment templates that pre-fill instrument settings, then adjust only what’s different for each run. This reduced setup time significantly while preserving full control.

For reports, we designed a dashboard view that surfaces experiment status, completion time, and key results at a glance — with one-click access to the full structured report.

Design & Validation

I delivered high-fidelity prototypes covering the scheduling flow, real-time experiment monitoring, and report access. Each prototype went through multiple rounds of usability testing with actual researchers, validating that the scheduling templates reduced cognitive load and that the report dashboard matched their retrieval patterns.

Summary

This project represents the kind of challenge I find most rewarding: a deeply technical domain where good UX has outsized impact. By grounding decisions in real research, we built a scheduling and reporting experience that researchers actually want to use — reducing their time in the lab and giving them instant access to the data that matters.