How are you using Validation Manager? When discussing with our existing customers, we often notice they are mostly happy with the benefits they get from this product, but with some small tips they can make things even easier. In this blog post, we’ll share these tips and tell you how to keep on climbing the quality steps towards more efficient verifications. If you are not yet familiar with using Validation Manager, check first the previous post of getting smoothly started with Validation Manager.
Don’t lose your mindset of improvement – climb up the quality steps
When labs begin using Validation Manager, they often stick to their old ways of gathering data in Excel sheets and manually creating reports for verifications. While this might feel necessary at first to get you started with Validation Manager, it stops you from enjoying the full benefits it offers. That’s why you shouldn’t just settle for a new way of calculating your results. Instead, use some time to figure out what parts of your process take time and see if there’s a way to automate them.
The four main things to focus on are:
- Stop wasting your time on Excel sheets – make your data management easy.
- Review your results in Validation Manager.
- Standardize your verifications.
- Take full advantage of Validation Manager product development.
1. Stop wasting time on Excel sheets—make your data management easy
Are you importing most of your data to Validation Manager from manually edited Excel sheets? Using Excel for data management not only eats up your time and weakens your traceability, but it’s also the easiest obstacle to overcome.
This is because there rarely is a real need for Excel sheets. Practically every modern analyzer offers an easy way to export data as a result file, you just need to find the right menu or button. Validation Manager supports a wide variety of file formats from analyzers and middleware solutions, and we are usually able to add new ones in a couple of weeks when needed.
Take the time to learn how to export your data from your instruments, middleware, or LIS, and import these data files into Validation Manager. At first, it may feel difficult to find out how it works, but it will save a lot of your time and nerves in the long run.
To learn more about why you should automate your data management, check out our earlier blog post about simplifying data management.
To make your data management even easier, don’t forget to set the external ids of your instruments and analytes to match the codes in your exported result files. This way, Validation Manager will automatically recognize them during the import, and all your data will flow easily to the correct reports.
2. Review your results in Validation Manager
Validation Manager report views come with handy tools to help you easily assess the results of big verifications. Using filters, you can quickly spot instruments and analytes that don’t meet your goals. Plus, you have the tools to dig into details, exclude results, mark outliers, and write your conclusions—all in one place.
It’s easy to start reviewing the results as soon as there’s some data. This allows you to spot possible issues early and react before you’ve wasted any effort or resources. The clinicians don’t have to wait for the final report to review the results, but can simply log in to Validation Manager and see the results in real time.
This saves you loads of time compared to shifting through stacks of paper or numerous Excel sheets. For more on these features, check out our earlier blog post about result analysis.
3. Standardize your verifications
Take advantage of Validation Manager report generation features to standardize your reports and make updating them easy when some complementing work is needed. See our blog post about automating verification reporting for how to set up an efficient reporting process.
Create a report template—or several—that makes it simple to use Validation Manager’s generated reports. In case you’re required to have a lot of manually written content in the report, consider splitting your report into two parts: one made by Validation Manager and the other by manual input.
Standardize your ways of working by utilizing project and study templates. They will give guidance to the users on what kind of protocols to use, making it easier to get new verification projects started.
4. Take advantage of our product development
Validation Manager is constantly improved in collaboration with our customers. These changes can be big or small, such as supporting whole new verification protocols or adding a simple filter option to a list. After a few years of using Validation Manager, you’ll find it offers a much wider range of tools for your verifications than what was mentioned in the sales pitch or training session when you first got it.
To make the most of Validation Manager, stay updated with our newsletters and blog posts to learn about important new features. When you log in, check the release notes on your dashboard to see what’s new. If there’s a new feature that could help you with something you’re still doing in Excel, consider trying it in Validation Manager.
If you have any questions, feedback, or ideas on how to improve your experience with Validation Manager, don’t hesitate to reach out to our user support team. In most cases, either we can readily advise you on what to do and how to work more efficiently, or our product development team can implement some changes to better meet your needs in the future.
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