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| [[File:Requirements Allocation Sheet.jpg|600px|right]]If you're a potential buyer of a laboratory informatics solution, this LIMSpec is also useful to you. Perhaps you know a bit about your laboratory's workflow and a few of the regulations and standards that influence how that workflow is conducted, but you're not entirely informed. Reviewing the five broad categories of requirements may be necessary to help further inform you regarding what's vital in regards to what a laboratory informatics solution should be capable of. Additionally, you can then use these requirements as a base for your laboratory's own requirements list. Using the categories and their subdivisions, you can then add those requirements that are unique to your laboratory and industry that are not sufficiently covered by the LIMSpec requirements. As you review the various options available to you and narrow down your search, your own list of requirements can be used as both as a personal checklist and as a requirements list you hand over to the vendor you query.
| | First, note that this LIMSpec is still an evolving entity. Standards change. Regulations change. Procedures also change with such standards and regulations. That means that as those foundational characteristics shift, this set of requirements will have to also evolve. As such, do your homework and don't take everything you see here as fixed law. If you're responsible for investigating and/or purchasing a laboratory informatics system, be sure you have at least some familiarity with the primary industry your laboratory serves, and by extension the regulations and standards that affect it. |
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| ====Software vendor selection====
| | Second, the number of industry-specific applications of laboratory informatics software continues to grow, and with it also the regulations and standards that affect those specialty laboratories. As such, some industry-specific requirements may have been missed for lack of or too expensive public-facing sources. As mentioned with the first caveat, this version of LIMSpec is evolving, and as industry experts and researchers are able to provide additional feedback on this document, it will surely grow with more relevant sources. In other words, don't consider this complete, particularly if you're in a specialized laboratory industry. You may have to add more items based on you industry knowledge and insights. |
| That said, the requirements you hand off to the vendor should be discussed a bit more. Software vendor selection can at times be a tedious yet necessary process, one which requires careful planning and best practices. This topic has been written about by both software developers and end users alike, and their experiences should play a role in how you select a vendor. What follows is bullet-pointed advice as offered by some of those developers and end users.<ref name="PearceSoftware16">{{cite web |url=https://blog.montrium.com/blog/software-vendor-selection-defining-your-requirements |title=Software Vendor Selection: How to Define Your Requirements |work=Montrium Blog |author=Pearce, O. |publisher=Montrium, Inc |date=21 June 2016 |accessdate=27 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="PearceSoftware16-2">{{cite web |url=https://blog.montrium.com/blog/software-vendor-selection-finding-the-right-vendor |title=Software Vendor Selection: Finding the Right Vendor |work=Montrium Blog |author=Pearce, O. |publisher=Montrium, Inc |date=23 June 2016 |accessdate=27 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="PearceSoftware16-3">{{cite web |url=https://blog.montrium.com/blog/software-vendor-selection-conducting-demonstrations |title=Software Vendor Selection: The Pitfalls and Successes of Vendor Demos |work=Montrium Blog |author=Pearce, O. |publisher=Montrium, Inc |date=28 June 2016 |accessdate=27 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="PearceSoftware16-4">{{cite web |url=https://blog.montrium.com/blog/software-vendor-selection-requesting-proposals-quotes |title=Software Vendor Selection: Requesting Proposals & Quotes |work=Montrium Blog |author=Pearce, O. |publisher=Montrium, Inc |date=05 July 2016 |accessdate=27 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="PersaudBusiness16">{{cite web |url=https://www.selecthub.com/miscellaneous/technology-selection/business-requirements-gathering-enterprise-software-selection/ |title=Business Requirements Gathering for Enterprise Software Selection |author=Persaud, D. |work=SelectHub Blog |publisher=Abuyo, Inc |date=04 February 2016 |accessdate=27 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="LichtenbergerSix12">{{cite web |url=https://blog.itil.org/2012/07/six-steps-for-a-successful-vendor-selection/ |title=Six Steps for a Successful Vendor Selection |author=Lichtenberger, A. |work=ITIL.org |date=23 July 2012 |accessdate=27 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="PoonInsider15">{{cite web |url=https://www.genologics.com/blog/insiders-guide-to-lims-selection/ |title=Insider’s Guide to LIMS Selection |author=Poon, L. |work=Genologics Blog |publisher=GenoLogics Life Sciences Software Inc |date=29 May 2015 |accessdate=20 September 2019}}{{Dead link|date=April 2022}}</ref><ref name="BenchlingHowTo">{{cite web |url=https://benchling.com/static/docs/resources/eln-for-biology-rnd.pdf |title=How to Select an ELN for Biology R&D |publisher=Benchling, Inc |accessdate=27 April 2022}}</ref>
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| * Have a clear business case and build your business needs into your laboratory's requirements.
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| * Be mindful of how detailed you get with your own business-based requirements and what you initially hand off to a vendor. If you're too specific with too many requirements, you may have trouble finding a vendor that matches up. Start with the essentials that involve your laboratory's processes, regulations, integrations, reporting, service needs, etc. As this LIMSpec is foundation-based, you have a good starting point in that regard. You can always get more detailed with requirements as you narrow down vendors.
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| * As discussed briefly in the introduction, you'll need to prioritize your needs somewhere between "critical" and "nice to have." The LIMSpec's requirements are largely critical for most purposes and can be marked as such. The requirements you add will have to be prioritized more carefully.
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| * You'll also want to perform some informal third-party information gathering about the vendors. Are reviews of the vendors trustworthy? Have peers had any interactions and success with the vendor? Does the vendor have the ability to scale to meet your needs?
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| * Schedule demonstrations of programs that seem like strong initial candidates. Make sure there is a question and answer session afterwards, and perform a post-demo evaluation.
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| * A formal request for proposal (RFP) may or may not be necessary, depending on the level of information you acquire prior. However, formally requesting pricing and clarification of maintenance and additional service costs is useful. Just don't let price be the only thing that guides you.
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| * Consider some of the intangibles. Does the vendor genuinely seem interested in your business and its needs? Do they communicate well and promptly? Do they seem flexible and able to accommodate a few special case requirements?
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| * Be sure to consider future needs as you anticipate potential laboratory expansion.
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| * Don't be afraid to choose a consultant to help you with the vendor selection process.
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| ==References==
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| {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
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First, note that this LIMSpec is still an evolving entity. Standards change. Regulations change. Procedures also change with such standards and regulations. That means that as those foundational characteristics shift, this set of requirements will have to also evolve. As such, do your homework and don't take everything you see here as fixed law. If you're responsible for investigating and/or purchasing a laboratory informatics system, be sure you have at least some familiarity with the primary industry your laboratory serves, and by extension the regulations and standards that affect it.
Second, the number of industry-specific applications of laboratory informatics software continues to grow, and with it also the regulations and standards that affect those specialty laboratories. As such, some industry-specific requirements may have been missed for lack of or too expensive public-facing sources. As mentioned with the first caveat, this version of LIMSpec is evolving, and as industry experts and researchers are able to provide additional feedback on this document, it will surely grow with more relevant sources. In other words, don't consider this complete, particularly if you're in a specialized laboratory industry. You may have to add more items based on you industry knowledge and insights.
