Choose laboratory software by the work that is causing trouble. A team losing experimental notes has a different problem from a laboratory losing track of samples or a quality team chasing document reviews.
ELN, LIMS, and QMS describe different starting points. Products may overlap, so the category name alone cannot tell you what a particular system will do.
Match the problem to the category
| Problem and starting point | What to demonstrate |
|---|---|
| Continuing experiments: ELN | Find a formulation trial, its method, observations and reason for the next version |
| Following samples and tests: LIMS | Trace a sample from receipt through testing to its report |
| Managing quality processes: QMS software | Follow a document change or quality issue through work, review and closure |
An ELN is an electronic laboratory notebook; NIH describes its role in research records.1 A LIMS is a laboratory information management system, described by CDC around a specimen and its data from receipt through reporting.2 A QMS is a quality management system: the organisation’s quality processes and responsibilities.3 Software helps operate parts of it.
Follow a product across the handovers
Take a hypothetical cleanser project in which the formulator uses documents, the laboratory receives test requests by email, and production uses a spreadsheet. The product name is consistent, but the laboratory report lacks a formula version and production cannot find the original processing notes.
The demonstration should therefore show a sample linked to its formula version and the selected processing instructions passed into production.
Map one representative product through development, samples, testing, batch preparation, and filling. At each handover, identify who provides the information and who needs it next. Rank the points where the team loses time or cannot establish what happened.
Include a correction and an unfinished test in the demo
Ask the vendor to create a new formula version, locate an incomplete test, and retrieve the evidence for a batch. Include a correction and inspect how the original entry and reason remain understandable. If equipment tasks are in scope, show an overdue check and the consequences for the next job.
For each requirement, record whether it is available, needs configuration, depends on another system, or is outside the proposal. Keep promised development separate from demonstrated behaviour. Examine the export as well: another person should be able to follow its references.
Budget for moving the work
Implementation includes naming conventions, duplicate material records, existing files, training, and ownership of data entry. Agree which records need to move and how older ones will remain accessible. Check access, backups, support, export arrangements, and the contract against the intended use.
Run a limited pilot with the people who will enter and review the records. Ask them to retrieve the selected formula, its sample results, and the production instructions. Record which handovers still need another tool or a manual step.
Sources
U.S. National Institutes of Health, Office of Intramural Research. Intramural Electronic Lab Notebook Policy. ↩︎
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, OneLab REACH. Introduction to Laboratory Informatics: Life of a Specimen, What is a LIMS?. ↩︎
International Organization for Standardization. Quality management systems: An introduction. ↩︎
