LIMS migration readiness
A LIMS migration is ready when the laboratory can explain what will move, what will remain accessible, and how it will recognize a correct result. Start with record ownership and acceptance evidence rather than a calendar promise. These editable checklists help laboratory, quality, and technical owners prepare a bounded migration discussion.
Inventory the current system, spreadsheets, attachments, report archive, and reference lists. Separate active work from historical records. Name retention requirements and owners, then decide which records need migration and which can remain in a controlled, searchable archive. Include access to previously issued reports in that decision.
Confirm you can obtain a usable export with stable identifiers and documented relationships. A table of results without sample links, units, qualifiers, or method context is not an adequate migration source. Keep a preserved source export and record its extraction time so later reconciliation has a fixed comparison point.
Map source fields to target records, including client and sample identifiers, analyses, methods, units, statuses, timestamps, attachments, and report versions. Document transformations and unmapped fields. Have laboratory owners approve how exceptions and historical states will be represented.
Compare totals by record type and relationship, then inspect representative records end to end. Include duplicates, null values, amended reports, and cancelled work. Track discrepancies to disposition; matching row counts alone does not prove that results belong to the right samples.
Demonstrate a readable target export and retrieval of retained reports. Rehearse restoration from the agreed backup, name rollback triggers, and assign the decision owner. Define how work recorded after the cutover point would be recovered or re-entered without losing provenance.
| Status | What it means for your plan |
|---|---|
| Available configured foundation | Connected sample, analysis, worksheet, review, and report workflows provide the target operating model. |
| Scoped rollout | Source extraction, mappings, history and attachments, interfaces, training, reconciliation tolerances, cutover, and rollback are agreed for your migration. |
| Planned: Q1 2027 | Governed agents are planned capabilities, not migration acceptance criteria. Do not make record integrity or go-live depend on future agent functions. |
Open either CSV in your spreadsheet editor. Assign owners, replace the suggested evidence with your own acceptance criteria, and record status and evidence locations. The selection scorecard leaves weights and scores blank so your team can choose priorities instead of inheriting a vendor ranking.
Before go-live, obtain sign-off on discrepancies, access, representative workflows, training, backup restoration, and the rollback decision path. Timing follows source quality, scope, and laboratory availability; there is no fixed-duration migration promise. Bring only a sanitized record inventory to the first discussion, not production exports.