BMC Bioinformatics (Dec 2019)

The H3ABioNet helpdesk: an online bioinformatics resource, enhancing Africa’s capacity for genomics research

  • Judit Kumuthini,
  • Lyndon Zass,
  • Sumir Panji,
  • Samson P. Salifu,
  • Jonathan K. Kayondo,
  • Victoria Nembaware,
  • Mamana Mbiyavanga,
  • Ajayi Olabode,
  • Ali Kishk,
  • Gordon Wells,
  • Nicola J. Mulder,
  • as members of the Sustainability and Outreach Work Package of the H3ABioNet Consortium

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12859-019-3322-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Abstract Background Currently, formal mechanisms for bioinformatics support are limited. The H3Africa Bioinformatics Network has implemented a public and freely available Helpdesk (HD), which provides generic bioinformatics support to researchers through an online ticketing platform. The following article reports on the H3ABioNet HD (H3A-HD)‘s development, outlining its design, management, usage and evaluation framework, as well as the lessons learned through implementation. Results The H3A-HD evaluated using automatically generated usage logs, user feedback and qualitative ticket evaluation. Evaluation revealed that communication methods, ticketing strategies and the technical platforms used are some of the primary factors which may influence the effectivity of HD. Conclusion To continuously improve the H3A-HD services, the resource should be regularly monitored and evaluated. The H3A-HD design, implementation and evaluation framework could be easily adapted for use by interested stakeholders within the Bioinformatics community and beyond.

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