B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal
Practical recommendations for developing software for life science applications
Authors: Pylvänäinen, Joanna W.; Jacquemet, Guillaume; Marcotti, Stefania
Publisher: COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
Publishing place: CAMBRIDGE
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Journal of Cell Science
Journal name in source: JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
Journal acronym: J CELL SCI
Article number: jcs263711
Volume: 138
Issue: 5
Number of pages: 5
ISSN: 0021-9533
eISSN: 1477-9137
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.263711
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.263711
Developing user-friendly image analysis software is essential for advancing biological and life science research. However, the interdisciplinary gap between software developers and life scientists presents challenges to software adoption. In this Essay, we provide practical recommendations to guide bioimage analysts and developers in creating accessible and usable software for biological research. These recommendations are presented in three phases, covering software design, user involvement in early development stages and the importance of software dissemination. Additionally, two software development case studies are presented to highlight the practical application of these principles, showing how thoughtful development, user-centric design and thorough documentation can bridge the gap between software developers and biologists, fostering wider adoption of the software and enabling further scientific discovery.
Funding information in the publication:
S.M. received funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) project grant (BB/V006169/1). J.W.P. and G.J. were supported by the Research Council of Finland’s Flagship InFLAMES Flagship Programme of the Academy of Finland (decision numbers: 337530, 337531, 357910 and 357911). G.J. was additionally supported by the Research Council of Finland (338537), the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, the Cancer Society of Finland (Syöpä jä rjestö t), and the Solutions for Health strategic funding to Åbo Akademi University. These funders had
no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.
