How we work
We are a small, engineering-led team. You work directly with the people designing and building your software, in short increments, with deployment and ownership arranged around your environment rather than ours.
From first conversation to running software
A first conversation
You describe the process, the systems involved and what is getting in the way. We ask a lot of questions and tell you honestly whether we think we are a good fit.
There is no sales process to get through first. You talk to the people who would design and build the software, and we will say so if we think another approach or another provider would serve you better.
Scoping
We map the workflow, the data and the integrations, and agree what a useful first release looks like, along with how it will be delivered and deployed.
Scoping produces a short, concrete description of the first release: the workflow it covers, the data, the integrations, the people who will use it, how it will be deployed and what success looks like. It also identifies anything that needs your QA or IT teams early.
Build in increments
You see working software early and often. Each increment is reviewed with the people who will use it before the next one starts.
We show working software from the first weeks, not documents. Feedback from analysts, reviewers and managers shapes each increment, and nothing goes live that the people using it have not seen.
Deployment and beyond
The application goes live in the environment we agreed. After that we support it, extend it, or hand it over to your team.
Go-live is planned with you, including data migration, training and, where your quality system requires it, the documentation your validation activities need. Afterwards we can support and extend the application, or hand it over.
The right people for each project
Laboratory software projects draw on different kinds of experience: software architecture, laboratory workflows, a particular LIMS, instrument integration, validation. Depending on the project, we deliver the work directly, together with experienced specialists from our professional network, or with appropriate professional partners.
However the team is put together, you have one point of contact and a clear written agreement on scope and responsibilities.
Deployment and ownership options
Where the software runs and who maintains it are decided per project. The options below are typical; what applies to your project depends on its requirements and on the commercial agreement.
- Your infrastructure
- Deployed to your own servers or cloud environment and operated under your IT policies.
- Managed hosting
- We host and look after the application under an ongoing support arrangement.
- Source-code handover
- Where agreed, your team receives the application and its source to maintain and extend.
Built with AppMaker, where it fits
Many of our applications, including the solution accelerators, are built with AppMaker, our application development platform. It lets us deliver working laboratory applications quickly, and it is designed so that a technical team can maintain and extend an application after delivery.
AppMaker is a means, not a requirement. When your environment, standards or existing systems call for a different technology, we use that instead.
Regulated environments
Many laboratories work under requirements such as GMP, GLP, ISO/IEC 17025 or 21 CFR Part 11. We discuss them during scoping, because they shape the design: audit trails, review and approval steps, access control, versioned master data and record retention.
Software features support compliance, but compliance itself depends on your processes, your validation approach and your quality system. We work with your QA team so that the software and its documentation fit the way you validate systems.
Questions we often hear
Do you work with laboratories outside the United States?
Yes. We work remotely with laboratories in the United States and internationally, in English. On-site visits can be arranged where a project needs them.
How are projects priced?
Commercial terms are agreed per project. Well-defined work can often be scoped as a fixed piece of work; exploratory or open-ended work is usually better handled in agreed increments. Either way, you will know what the next step costs before it starts.
Can you follow our IT and security standards?
Yes, as part of scoping we agree the hosting environment, access, security requirements and change process. If your organization has standards for software suppliers, tell us early so they can shape the design.
Who maintains the software after go-live?
That depends on what we agree: ongoing support and hosting by us, maintenance by your own team after a handover, or a combination. We design for whichever option you choose.
Tell us what your lab needs
Describe the process, the systems involved and what is getting in the way. We will reply personally and suggest a sensible next step, even if that step is not a project with us.