Almost all work on genome information systems is done in large projects funded through genome centers or standalone community resources. Genome informatics cannot flourish as a scientific discipline until it becomes possible for significant contributions to be made by individual scientists. This in turn cannot happen until we learn how to build complete genome information systems out of independently developed components. The paragraphs that follow present a strawman framework to illustrate the issues that arise. An interconnection framework must allow these components to interact gracefully.
Most data types place demands on multiple component types.
Consider the following hypothetical scenario. The system would have to manage laboratory workflow data, raw sequences, and finished sequences. The system would also have to be able to disseminate these results to the community. Software already exists to support most of these functions, and surely more and better software will exist by the start of this hypothetical project. In an ideal world, we could utilize existing components for many parts of the system, and focus our creative energy on creating or improving those components that don't exist or are not up to the task.