Key Steps for a Successful LIMS Implementation
Oral Presentation
Prepared by E. Turner
North Texas Municipal Water District, 201 E. Brown Street, PO Box 2408, Wylie, TX, 75098, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 972-442-5405
ABSTRACT
It is estimated that 60% of laboratory information management systems (LIMS) never go live successfully. There are many reasons why the implementation of a LIMS may fail. Surprisingly, the reasons are seldom technology-based. LIMS projects are more likely to fail due to human issues. A large number of systems will fail to meet the user’s initial expectations and this can often be due to the lack of a proficient user requirements specification. The success of the project will normally rely on the understanding of the business needs and the problems that arise from them. One of the problematic attitudes towards LIMS is the expectation that it will provide a total laboratory solution . People think (or hope) that a LIMS will solve all of their laboratory needs without the need for any input on their part. There are many more factors affecting the success of a LIMS project, some more trivial than others. Mostly, failure can be attributed to people focusing on the wrong areas. Typically, there is a lot of emphasis on the technological side although this is seldom the case for failure. Organizations that clearly map out their needs and address the problem of integrating the LIMS successfully into their own system, taking into account the various needs and relationships of the users, stand a far better chance of success. This presentation will focus on the key steps that an organization can take to successfully implement a Laboratory Information Management System.
Oral Presentation
Prepared by E. Turner
North Texas Municipal Water District, 201 E. Brown Street, PO Box 2408, Wylie, TX, 75098, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 972-442-5405
ABSTRACT
It is estimated that 60% of laboratory information management systems (LIMS) never go live successfully. There are many reasons why the implementation of a LIMS may fail. Surprisingly, the reasons are seldom technology-based. LIMS projects are more likely to fail due to human issues. A large number of systems will fail to meet the user’s initial expectations and this can often be due to the lack of a proficient user requirements specification. The success of the project will normally rely on the understanding of the business needs and the problems that arise from them. One of the problematic attitudes towards LIMS is the expectation that it will provide a total laboratory solution . People think (or hope) that a LIMS will solve all of their laboratory needs without the need for any input on their part. There are many more factors affecting the success of a LIMS project, some more trivial than others. Mostly, failure can be attributed to people focusing on the wrong areas. Typically, there is a lot of emphasis on the technological side although this is seldom the case for failure. Organizations that clearly map out their needs and address the problem of integrating the LIMS successfully into their own system, taking into account the various needs and relationships of the users, stand a far better chance of success. This presentation will focus on the key steps that an organization can take to successfully implement a Laboratory Information Management System.
