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6.1 Conduct initial research into a specification document

A specification is "a detailed precise presentation of something or of a plan or proposal for something." This concept of a specification as a presentation is critical to the laboratory seeking to find laboratory informatics software that fulfills their needs; they "present" their use case with the help of a requirements specification, and the vendor "presents" their ability (or inability) to comply through documentation and demonstration (more on that later). However, even the most seasoned of presenters at conferences and the like still require quality preparation before the presentation. This is where initial specification research comes into play for the lab.

Your lab's requirements specification document will eventually be a critical component for effectively selecting a laboratory informatics solution. There are numerous ways to approach the overall development of such a document. But why re-invent the wheel when others have already gone down that road? Sure, you could search for examples of such documents on the internet and customize them to your needs, or you and your team could brainstorm how a laboratory informatics solution should help your lab accomplish its goals. LIMSpec makes for one of the more thorough starting points to use, though you could also use other structured documents that have been developed by others. For the purposes of this guide, we'll look at LIMSpec.

The version of LIMSpec included in Appendix 1 of this guide is a slightly tweaked version of the original LIMSpec 2019 document, omitting a few of the specialty laboratory functions that aren't applicable to clinical diagnostic and research laboratories. You'll note that it's divided into five distinct sections, with numerous subsections in each:

• Primary Laboratory Workflow
  • 1. Sample and experiment registration
  • 2. Sample management
  • 3. Core laboratory testing and experiments
  • 4. Results review and verification
  • 5. Sample, experiment, and study approval and verification
  • 6. Reporting
• Maintaining Laboratory Workflow and Operations
  • 7. Document management
  • 8. Resource management
  • 9. Compliance management
  • 10. Instrument and equipment management
  • 11. Batch and lot management
  • 12. Scheduled event management
  • 13. Instrument data capture and control
  • 14. Standard and reagent management
  • 15. Inventory management
  • 16. Investigation and quality management
• Specialty Laboratory Functions (minus non-relevant industries)
  • 18. Statistical trending and control charts
  • 21. Forensic case and data management
  • 22. Public health data management
  • 23. Veterinary data management
  • 24. Scientific data management
  • 25. Health information technology
• Technology and Performance Improvements
  • 26. Instrument data systems functions
  • 27. Systems integration
  • 28. Laboratory scheduling and capacity planning
  • 29. Lean laboratory and continuous improvement
  • 30. Artificial intelligence and smart systems
• Security and Integrity of Systems and Operations
  • 31. Data integrity
  • 32. Configuration management
  • 33. System validation and commission
  • 34. System administration
  • 35. Cybersecurity
  • 36. Information privacy

These sections and subsections should be able to address most any requirement you have for your system. Of course, if something isn't covered by LIMSpec, you can always add additional requirements.

During the initial research towards your URS, you won't have to include every requirement for when you approach potential vendors. Most vendors appreciate a more inviting approach that doesn't overwhelm, at least initially. You will want to go with a limited yet practical set of requirements carefully chosen because they matter to you and your laboratory the most. In fact, you'll want to wait until after participating in several software demonstrations before even considering your URS to be complete. (More on that in 6.3.1.) This naturally leads us to a discussion about the RFI process.