FAQs

Does SENAITE Bundle deprive me of being able to customize the system in future?

No, we always install the software taking into account that you may need custom features in the future, whether these being reports, integration with other software, customization of lab workflows, instrument interfaces or any other type of custom-made development.

SENAITE Bundle is delivered with an extension (add-on) that is specific for your organization. You can modify the behavior of SENAITE or add your own customizations in this add-on.

Does SENAITE have an Electronic Laboratory Notebook (A functionality for taking and storing records of analyses)?

Senate does not ship with an ELN, but samples have a Remarks section field to write comments for internal use:

Does SENAITE have an Audit Assistant?

Audit log functionality registers any change in the system at data record level:

How SENAITE manages and tracks samples? (A functionality for sampling handling, e.g. sample preparation, sample disposal, etc.)

Basic information for Sample workflow:

Note that the image only considers the basic workflow, Senaite handles the following states for Samples:

1. To be sampled
2. To be preserved
3. Sample due
4. Received (work in process)
5. To be verified (results submitted)
6. (Results) Verified
7. (Results) Published → End of Sample workflow in Senaite

Other States that Samples can have during the analytical process

• (Sample) stored → Sample stored in a shelf
• Sample canceled
• Sample invalidated
• Sample rejected

More workflows can be added in your custom add-on. You can also add some workflows through the user interface.

How does SENAITE link and automate all lab processes? I.e., sampling, sample preparation, sample analysis, data analysis, etc.

All entities in SENAITE (Samples, Analyses, Clients, Results, Reports, Worksheets, etc) are transparently interconnected through workflow states. Also, all their changes are recorded and tracked to be easily accessed anytime.

What can be registered and tracked in SENAITE?

Senaite is meant to manage data such as Samples, Analyses, Results, Calculations, Detection Limits, Analysis Profiles and a lot more.

You can find all data sets that Senaite can handle in the Set Setup page.

Can Clients track their Samples?

You can define a Client Contact and create a user account for it. That contact will be able to see Samples and Analyses registered for the Client. They can also request analyses.

Does SENAITE have an accountancy module and CRM?

Senaite is a LIMS system designed to satisfy all laboratory needs, but does not have ERP or CRM functionalities.

On the other hand, Senaite can be easily interfaced with other enterprise software.

Can you import/export data from/to spreadsheets or another database?

We usually create exporting functionalities to export the data you want from the system in the format you need.

Regarding import, we can create an importing feature for your case.

You can also use SENAITE JSON API.

Does SENAITE manage instrument calibration?

Yes, Senaite manages instrument calibration automatically thorough regents and worksheets.

By default, instruments with wrong calibration will be disabled and a warning message displayed.

Can SENAITE receive and track samples and other associated data

Yes, this is the core of SENAITE.

Does SENAITE assign and schedule analysis tasks?

Yes.

Does SENAITE save samples data for future reporting?

Yes, results reports are saved in the system and can be accessed anytime.

What does project planning through GAP Analysis mean?

A GAP analysis is a technique to determine which steps we need to take in order to move from the current state to the desired, future state. This analysis consists on the evaluation of the current situation, listing factors needed to achieve future objectives, and finally reporting the "gap" that exist.

Therefore, the GAP analysis is an essential tool to know the percentage of match between SENAITE and your lab needs. This information will be used to make decisions about the customizations and new functionalities considered as top priority and prepare a detailed project plan in accordance.

What are the main goals of using Agile methodology?

In our experience, an Agile methodology approach, with regular deliveries and periodical feedback from key-personnel, work well for both development team and laboratory. It allows the laboratory to actively participate in the implementation process, to keep track of all work done within increments, avoid missteps and, if necessary, apply corrective actions without delay. Thus, this implementation methodology fits well with "Release Early, Release Often" paradigm, that emphasizes the importance of early and frequent releases in creating a tight feedback loop between developers and testers or users, contrary to feature-based release strategy.

The following are the main goals of this methodology:

• Maximum alignment with the client's goals, starting with those that are of the highest priority.
• Management of the expectations of the client.
• Anticipation to foreseen results.
• Flexibility and adaptability to changes.
• Productivity and Quality.
• Rapid Return Of Investment.
• Risk mitigation
• Continuous tracking and control of eventual changes.
• Maximum alignment between the client and the working team.

Will we have access and be able to modify the source code?

Yes. The code is yours, from day one. Not only do we believe in a business model based on professional open-source services, but we also actively participate from the first day. If your project doesn't adhere to the open-source model, don't fret: the code we develop is yours and you may ask for it whenever you want.

Assistance with configuration and setup of SENAITE LIMS/Health.

The setup of a LIMS system may be complex due to the big amount of data that needs to be initially configured before production use. Naralabs offers professional assistance on all those steps related to data modeling such as the registration of analysis services, calculations, methods, clients, users and other system setup such as language, reporting procedures, multiple validation of results, etc.

What about Integrations with other software?

Thanks to SENAITE's RESTful API, the system can be potentially integrated with any other software. Almost all modern applications already consider these methods to guarantee its connectivity with others. Integration is more about defining what needs to be shared and for which purpose.

Do I need to have a SENAITE instance running on my own beforehand?

No. We will give you access to an instance of SENAITE for the training, populated with demonstrative data and focused on your lab discipline. The aim is to help you to envision how your production instance might look like, and give you the opportunity to foresee use-cases and challenges that you might face later.

Can new capabilities be added?

Yes, this is one of the services we offer and the competitive advantage of Senaite over other software.

Can SENAITE be installed in a cloud-based infrastructure or only server based?

Both, Senaite is a web based software that can be deployed in private servers or cloud infrastructures. Our Senaite Bundle is basically a Virtual Machine, therefore you will need a virtualization solution such as Virtual Box that can run in private services or cloud infrastructures.

You can also create a Docker container to deploy SENAITE using your orchestration software such as Kubernetes.

Because SENAITE is an Open Source software, does it require upgrades or bug fixing to be used?

Senaite is a mature software that is used in production in many labs. As any other software, new versions are released and bugs fixed when found. If you need to fix a bug before it is fixed in the next release, you can hire hours of support.

You can find all known bugs in the public issue tracker.

Is SENAITE LIMS secure?

Senaite is build on top of Plone, a framework to develop web applications used by Disney, NASA and FBI.

Because Senaite is Open Source, if you have concerns about security, you are free to hire a security specialist to audit the system and study the code.

From our end, we apply many security strategies in the Senaite Bundle to increase the system security.

How to interface the LIMS with analytical instruments or data systems?

SENAITE can be interfaced with laboratory equipment through instrument interfaces. If the interface is not yet available, it needs to be coded. Interfacing with lab equipment is usually done by reading the results file and getting the Sample-analysis-result data, but we can interface SENAITE via ASTM for equipment that allow it.

Senaite is designed to be interfaced with other software by two different strategies:

1- To create a specialized end-point for the job, we can create a web view and send requests to push or pull data. The end-point will deal with all Senaite steps to create the data sets.

2- To use the RESTful Senaite JSON API, Senaite ships with a JSON RESful API, so other applications can read, update and create data sets in Senaite. You will avoid modifying Senaite, but you may need to do more requests to the system in order to manage the desired data sets.

Can workflows be customized?

Senaite offers a workflow for almost any data set in Senaite, this means that samples, analyses, clients, users, analysis profiles, calculations, etc have their own workflow. These workflows can be modified and adapted to the lab use case.

What about backups and database maintenance?

Senaite database allows easy backup creation and recovery.

Is there an annual cost? Once deployed, do we renew operational cost?

No, Senaite license is free, therefore you only pay for the professional services we provide.

The services that have an annual cost are:

• Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Operational Support
• Maintained private GitHub source code repository if we provide it to you

Note that both items are optional.