CTM buyer resource
Laboratory document automation checklist
Use this printable decision tool to define one recurring document problem before discussing automation. It is not a technical audit, does not approve report content, and does not authorize access or production changes.
Print this checklist
- Choose one output or inbound document flow rather than an entire department.
- Name the event that starts the work and the person accountable for the finished result.
- List authoritative source data, templates, calculations, review steps, approvals, destinations, and retention needs.
- Describe common exceptions: missing values, unreadable inputs, duplicate records, corrections, late changes, or rejected outputs.
- Record the current volume and frequency only if measured; otherwise label them unknown.
- Define what a reviewer must inspect before the artifact is released or accepted.
Evidence to gather
Gather approved blank templates, field definitions, version history, written calculation rules supplied by the laboratory, output specifications, sanitized representative examples, and current work instructions. Identify where each value originates and whether it is entered, calculated, looked up, or approved by a person. Keep a distinction between a source field and text that merely looks similar on a report.
For inbound capture, document accepted file or message types, required identifiers, rejection criteria, human-review points, correction ownership, and the authorized destination. For outbound reports or certificates, document template ownership, review and release authority, filename and delivery rules, and what happens when generation fails.
Red flags
- No one can identify the authoritative source for a required value.
- Calculations or report wording are known only through an old output rather than an approved rule.
- Templates change without a version owner or acceptance process.
- The proposed flow would silently accept incomplete inputs or silently discard generation errors.
- Sensitive examples are being sent through unapproved intake or email.
- Automation is expected to replace scientific, quality, or release judgment.
Do not change production
Do not edit templates, connect to production data, install capture agents, reroute email, or change report generation while completing this checklist. Preserve the current path until owners, rules, representative tests, rollback, and acceptance are agreed. A prototype using sanitized fixtures is not authority to process production records.
Use the result
A useful first scope names inputs, transformations, human decisions, outputs, exceptions, and support ownership. CTM can then determine whether a narrow automation is feasible, whether discovery is still needed, or whether the real problem belongs in the source system. No timing, integration, or result should be assumed before verification.
Describe your systems need