Systems and methods that facilitate the setup and visualization of a configurable process, for example a chromatography experiment to be conducted using a configurable chromatography system. A user interface displays category regions representing sections of a process, and displays a plurality of selectable items representing components appropriate for placement in the category regions. A user interface control causes selection of one of the selectable items and placement of the selected item into one of the category regions, to define a selected process configuration. The user interface control may be a scrolling control that causes a set of selectable items appropriate for placement in the respective category region to scroll through the category region. When the computer displaying the user interface is also connected to the system being configured, the user interface may also facilitate setup, monitoring, and control of the resulting process.