In my last post about development principles for Biotech data teams, I wrote about the importance of getting data into FAIR systems and noted that it’s not enough to have FAIR data systems; your lab teams need processes that ensure they use them. This week’s principle makes this a more general point:
Concerns with FAIR process mgm't are valid. Typically, there are executive or client mandates to deploy one method or another, and more typically the task is handed off to an underperforming member of the team. This can be fatal, as layer upon layer of paper trail is now generated, along with infinitely recursing signature cycles. Better to have the most productive team member tackle it. Biology is not cheap to do well, and reproducibility (the younger sibling of scalability) is key. A little 'deliberate empathy', as you've mentioned, won't hurt either in getting to pragmatic and functional processes.
Concerns with FAIR process mgm't are valid. Typically, there are executive or client mandates to deploy one method or another, and more typically the task is handed off to an underperforming member of the team. This can be fatal, as layer upon layer of paper trail is now generated, along with infinitely recursing signature cycles. Better to have the most productive team member tackle it. Biology is not cheap to do well, and reproducibility (the younger sibling of scalability) is key. A little 'deliberate empathy', as you've mentioned, won't hurt either in getting to pragmatic and functional processes.