Wondering how you can make an SOP, method, protocol, or checklist easier for you or your teammates to execute?
As important as they are to lab work, procedures are not always the easiest to follow. For example, there's a chance it's been a while since you've run a particular method and may need a refresher. If that's the case, you'll need to take your laptop, notebook, or print-out instructions, and then have to look back-and-forth as you simultaneously concentrate on experiments. Easy, right?
For more familiar protocols, perhaps you're too comfortable, and from time-to-time, you might miss a step or two. It's OK - we've all done it, and likewise, we all want to avoid it.
What about training new lab techs or employees? If you have to sit and dedicate your time to walk someone through an SOP, well then, a one-person job has now just become a two-person job. And that backlog of tasks you have to get done immediately is getting nowhere.
We believe that virtual assistants are the future of executing processes in the lab. Virtual assistants allow scientists to work handsfree, receive instructions in a concise manner, and capture any observations or notes they need along the way.
Here's a video our Director of Product Management put together during DiscoveryIT in May 2020, explaining some of our philosophy when we convert a process into a virtually-assisted workflow. We think it's pretty interesting; here's to hoping you think the same!