Difference between revisions of "LIMS feature"
Shawndouglas (talk | contribs) (Added more content.) |
Shawndouglas (talk | contribs) (→Sample, inventory, and data management: Added feature names.) |
||
| Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
==Sample, inventory, and data management== | ==Sample, inventory, and data management== | ||
===Sample login and management=== | |||
===Sample tracking=== | |||
===Sample and result batching=== | |||
===Task and event scheduling=== | |||
===Option for manual result entry=== | |||
===Multiple data viewing methods=== | |||
===Data and trend analysis=== | |||
===Data and equipment sharing=== | |||
===Customizable fields and/or interface=== | |||
===Query capability=== | |||
===Import data=== | |||
===Internal file or data linking=== | |||
===External file or data linking=== | |||
===ELN support or integration=== | |||
===Export to MS Excel=== | |||
===Export raw data=== | |||
===Data warehouse=== | |||
===Deadline control=== | |||
===Production control=== | |||
===Project and/or task management=== | |||
===Inventory management=== | |||
===Document creation and management=== | |||
===Case management=== | |||
===Workflow management=== | |||
===Specification management=== | |||
===Customer management=== | |||
===Billing management=== | |||
==Quality, security, and compliance== | ==Quality, security, and compliance== | ||
Revision as of 20:59, 9 February 2012
 |
You can find a listing of all LIMS vendors — and by extension, the features their products offer — on the LIMS vendor page. |
A LIMS feature is one or more pieces of functionality that appear within a laboratory information management system (LIMS).
The LIMS is an evolving concept, with new features and abilities being introduced every year. As laboratory demands change and technological progress continues, the functions of a LIMS will also change. Yet like the automobile, the LIMS tends to have a base set of functionality that defines it. That functionality can roughly be divided into five laboratory processing phases, with numerous software functions falling under each[1]:
- the reception and log in of a sample and its associated customer data
- the assignment, scheduling, and tracking of the sample and the associated analytical workload
- the processing and quality control associated with the sample and the utilized equipment and inventory
- the storage of data associated with the sample analysis
- the inspection, approval, and compilation of the sample data for reporting and/or further analysis
Of course, there are LIMS features that are difficult to categorize under any of these phases. Such features often contribute to the entire LIMS and how it's utilized. For example, multilingual support appears in LIMS like Assaynet Inc.'s LIMS2010 and Two Fold Software's Qualoupe LIMS, allowing users to interact with the LIMS in more than one language. Some functionality may also overlap several laboratory phases, making it difficult to firmly classify features.
The features described here represent an analysis using freely available information on vendor websites. An attempt was made to discover the features most utilized in vendors' LIMS products and collect information on those features for each LIMS. Not every possible feature is referenced here; some LIMS products fill specific niches, with very unique functionality to solve a specific problem.
That said, it should be kept in mind that the categorization of features here is very loose. It may be viable to argue a feature belongs under a different category or multiple categories. For the purposes of organizing this information in an uncomplicated manner, however, some liberty has been taken in the categorizing of a feature.
Sample, inventory, and data management
Sample login and management
Sample tracking
Sample and result batching
Task and event scheduling
Option for manual result entry
Multiple data viewing methods
Data and trend analysis
Data and equipment sharing
Customizable fields and/or interface
Query capability
Import data
Internal file or data linking
External file or data linking
ELN support or integration
Export to MS Excel
Export raw data
Data warehouse
Deadline control
Production control
Project and/or task management
Inventory management
Document creation and management
Case management
Workflow management
Specification management
Customer management
Billing management
Quality, security, and compliance
Reporting, barcoding, and printing
Base functionality
References
- ↑ D. O. Skobelev, T. M. Zaytseva, A. D. Kozlov, V. L. Perepelitsa, and A. S. Makarova (2011). "Laboratory information management systems in the work of the analytic laboratory" (PDF). Measurement Techniques 53 (10): 1182–1189. doi:10.1007/s11018-011-9638-7. http://www.springerlink.com/content/6564211m773v70j1/.
