What’s Important When Selecting a LIMS?

However, remember that it is extremely unlikely, if not impossible, that any LIMS will exactly meet your needs when delivered out-of-the-box, and anyway those needs will certainly change over time. All LIMS consist of a database in which to store the data, and a user interface to input, manipulate and present that data. As this is all created using software any vendor can claim that their solution can be modified to your exact needs and therefore all your requirements can be met.

That’s why it is so important to pay attention to much more than just the technical data-driven functional requirements to drive your selection process. Other key questions you should be asking yourself about prospective suppliers and their solutions include:

• Will they be positively reactive to your concerns and needs?
• Can you work with them successfully? Can they communicate effectively?
• How easy is it, really, to make configuration changes?
• Can you make these changes yourself?
• Can you easily reverse out configuration changes?
• Do they have experience in your industry? Are they capable of understanding your business?
• Do they understand your validation and regulatory compliance needs?
• Is the team large enough to cope? (Or do you only ever deal with their super-salesman?)

Services Are as Important as The Software

A LIMS solution is so much more than just the software. At a minimum it is the amalgamation of software, implementation services and post implementation support. Choosing a LIMS solution, therefore, is not something that can be rushed. It is usually a complex process involving a significant financial investment. It’s more a marriage than a purchase and therefore to maintain harmony and avoid divorce it’s important to have a plan and stick to it.

1. Desk Research – look round to see what LIMS others in your industry use, look online to find any new options that are coming through. Can you understand the vendors’ websites, do they provide relevant information? Does the LIMS seem to meet your needs?
2. Initial Discussion – initiate discussions with your chosen vendor(s). Do they react quickly to your enquiry? Do they understand you/your industry? Do you feel you can work with them? Ask for a demonstration, and get them to configure something you have not warned them about beforehand. This is a great time to figure out how they configure the system, how configurations are managed and whether they can be reversed out of the system easily. {Matrix is configured not coded, and previous versions of any screen can be instantly reinstated, if needed. Easy to change but highly managed, an ideal combination. It’s a low code configuration platform.}
3. Requirements Workshop – a requirements workshop is a great way to close in on your final user requirements. Autoscribe, and I’m sure others, will lead you though their system and tease out additional requirements, such as which reports you need, and which instruments you need to be connected. We call it a Requirement Definition Service.
4. Understand the Process – Make sure you understand the configuration process and how the implementation will be managed from the initial discussion to completion. Autoscribe implementation methodology uses Agile design. We install the chosen starter system and then further configure it in iterative steps. This allows testing to be done in parallel with configuration to keep timescales to a minimum. Clients must also dedicate resources for testing to confirm the system meets their needs and ensure timescales don’t slip.
5. Configuration – once you have chosen your vendor the solution is configured and delivered. In Autoscribe’s case this is done, as described above, using an Agile methodology that provides a managed phased approach to configuration. It is essential to interact regularly with the vendor rather than just letting the vendor configure the system in isolation and just deliver the ‘completed’ LIMS. This can result in a large discrepancy between what was requested and what was delivered, requiring change-orders and extra costs to get the system into an acceptable working state.
6. Testing – testing requires checking the implemented workflows and associated data to ensure the system works as expected. For many labs this level of testing is enough. Regulated laboratories may, however, also require formal validation and approval of the system. Autoscribe can help with this too.
7. Go-Live – the big day arrives, potentially preceded by a period of parallel running, when the lab switches to the new LIMS. Clients may want the LIMS vendor on-site for this, or just ensure they are on standby should any last-minute hitches occur. Either way the vendor must be prepared to do this.
8. On-going support and services – Should you have questions or issues about your system the vendor support desk must be there to help you. Ideally you will have one or more key users who know the system well and through whom questions can be routed. Additionally, as nothing stays the same it is more than likely you will need changes to your system as your laboratory processes and business needs evolve. That’s normal, so you should ensure that the system is capable of­­­ changing as you change.

While choosing a LIMS based on product features is important, finding the right vendor or implementation partner can make a huge difference. Bridging the gap between what a LIMS does out-of-the-box and your specific requirements requires an array of good services and timely communications to ensure success.