Taverna: lessons in creating a workflow environment for the life sciences

TLDR

Life‑science research relies on multidisciplinary groups that conduct in‑silico experiments as distributed workflows, and Grid computing must support sharing of analysis and information resources rather than just compute power. This paper reports lessons learned while developing the Taverna workflow environment for life‑science researchers. The authors built the Taverna Workbench, a tool for composing and executing life‑science workflows, as part of the my Grid project. The key finding is that workflow tools must align with scientists’ experimental contexts, and the lessons illustrate an evolving understanding of life‑science requirements that apply to other data‑intensive fields. © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Abstract Life sciences research is based on individuals, often with diverse skills, assembled into research groups. These groups use their specialist expertise to address scientific problems. The in silico experiments undertaken by these research groups can be represented as workflows involving the co‐ordinated use of analysis programs and information repositories that may be globally distributed. With regards to Grid computing, the requirements relate to the sharing of analysis and information resources rather than sharing computational power. The my Grid project has developed the Taverna Workbench for the composition and execution of workflows for the life sciences community. This experience paper describes lessons learnt during the development of Taverna. A common theme is the importance of understanding how workflows fit into the scientists' experimental context. The lessons reflect an evolving understanding of life scientists' requirements on a workflow environment, which is relevant to other areas of data intensive and exploratory science. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.