Interactive Software Ltd

Achiever, the laboratory information management system from Interactive Software Ltd, is built to track samples, follow workflows and prepare labs for audits. The company also offers a related customer relationship management product for universities, and its LIMS is used by biobanks, academic research groups, agriculture, environmental and pharmaceutical laboratories and hospital laboratories.

Sample lifecycle and lineage

Achiever covers the full lifecycle of a sample and traces its lineage through every transformation and pooling step. End-to-end tracking extends to reagents, inventory and sample shipments, so a lab can see where each sample and material came from and where it has gone.

Workflows and forms built without heavy coding

The configuration tools are low-code and no-code, with version control. A visual workflow designer uses drag and drop, and a dynamic form builder uses rule-based logic, flexible layouts and customised fields. Dashboards show trends and highlight bottlenecks, and they can detect outliers, non-compliance and data quality problems.

Audit trail and sign-off

The audit trail records change details, and searchable record versioning allows field-level auditing. Events are tracked with the reason for each change and with sign-off and approval management. Configurable rules raise automated alerts and validate data, which helps labs in regulated environments.

Integration with instruments and security

Achiever connects to lab instruments, analytics tools and electronic laboratory notebooks with real-time, two-way data synchronisation. Access is secured with single sign-on and configurable multi-factor authentication, role-based and attribute-based access control, and AES-256 encryption.

Setup for a new laboratory

The company's Achiever Essentials package provides the out-of-the-box functionality, workflows and dashboards, with full end-user training and on-site go-live support. It says a lab can start using the software in as little as twelve weeks. Achiever Plus adds enhanced modules or changes the software to match a lab's processes more closely.

A hospital go-live during the pandemic

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Trust went live with Achiever in the middle of the pandemic, which the company presents as a demanding example of a successful launch. Two decades of project delivery and support stand behind its products, according to Interactive Software, and it treats feedback from users as a basis for ongoing enhancements.