Overview	Top

For a more detailed discussion of the structure of "Test Methods" and "Tests", see Adding and Maintaining Tests. This discussion focuses specifically on creating and maintaining "Test Methods".

A "Test Method" is actually a "Workitem" SDI. Accordingly, all Test Method functionality and structure is based on the Workitem SDC. LabVantage maintains "Test Methods" and "Tests" internally as "Workitems" and "SDIWorkitems", respectively. Some areas of the user interface also interchange this terminology.

These definitions apply:

After creating a Test Method, you can add an instance of it ("Test") to Samples as described in Adding and Maintaining Tests.

Test Method Form	Top

The example below shows the pH Test Method provided in the OOB configuration.

Fields of the Test Method form:

Fields of the Inventory detail:

These values are used by Stability Studies when this Test Method is specified. See Adding Working Set of Test Methods for more information.

Test Method Details	Top

The Parameter Lists, Specifications, and (if a Group) Test Methods you add here will be associated with a Sample when you add an instance of this Test Method to the Sample.

When the "Standard" Type is selected, the Test Method is a Standard Test Method. Accordingly, these detail elements let you add and remove Parameter Lists and Specifications.

When the "Group" Type is selected, the Test Method is a Test Method Group. In addition to Parameter Lists and Specifications, you can also add other Test Methods. Accordingly, an "Add Test Method" button is added.

The "Use Current" button uses the current Version of the selected item, which is then identified as (Ver: C) as shown above. When you add a "Current" Versioned SDI to a Test Method, editing the Current Version presents it as read-only. See Concepts of SDI Versioning and Approval for more information.

When the "Groups" Type is selected, the resulting Workitem Group obviously will contain other Workitems that are "children" of the "parent" Workitem Group. These are identified in the "Tests" detail of the Sample Maintenance pages (see Adding and Maintaining Tests).

The "Parameter Lists", "Specifications", and "Test Methods" details provide these settings:

When a Parameter List is added to a Test Method, the Auto Assign Rule, Auto Assign Analyst, and Work Area defined for the Parameter List are copied to the Test Method.

If the Test Method's Testing Lab is not blank, the Parameter List's Work Area is validated to ensure it is in the Test Method's Testing Lab. A Parameter List with a Work Area is not allowed to be added to a Test Method that defines a Testing Lab Type. In both cases, the system shows an alert message and prevents saving of the Test Method with the incompatible values. Examples of these messages are shown below.

When the Test Method is saved, if the validation finds that the Auto Assign Rule, Auto Assign Analyst, or Work Area for the Test Method's Parameter List differ from that defined in the Parameter List itself, the validator asks for confirmation to copy the values from the original Parameter List into the Test Method's Parameter List. The confirmation dialog displays Parameter List's AnalystId only if the Parameter List's Auto Assign Rule is Analyst and its AnalystId differs from the AnalystId defined by the Test Method's Parameter List. The confirmation dialog displays the Parameter List's Work Area only if it differs from the Work Area defined by the Test Method's Parameter List and the Testing Lab of the Parameter List is the same as the Testing Lab of the Test Method.

When adding a new Parameter List, you can automatically add the Parameter List to a Test Method. For more information, see Parameter Lists → Automatically Adding Parameter Lists to Test Methods.

Force New and Repeat Count	Top

When adding a Test containing Parameter Lists to a Sample, the "Force New" and "Repeat Count" options offer control over the number of Data Sets that are added to the Sample and when they are added. These options can be changed only if the "Always Force New" property in the Data Entry Policy is set to No. The following examples show this behavior. In these examples, the "pH Test" Test Method contains a single "pH" Parameter List.

Each time you add the first instance of the "pH Test" Test Method to a Sample, n "pH" Data Sets (instances of the "pH" Parameter List) are always added. Suppose Repeat Count = 3 as shown below:

When you add the first instance of the "pH Test" Test Method to the Sample, 3 "pH" Data Sets are added:

In the database, one record is added in the SDIWorkitem table (for the Test), and three records are added to SDIData (one for each Data Set):

SDIWorkitem

SDIData

When you add another instance of the "pH Test" Test Method to the same Sample, n additional "pH" Data Sets (instances of the "pH" Parameter List) are added to the Sample. Since Repeat Count = 3, adding a second instance of the "pH Test" Test Method to the Sample adds 3 additional "pH" Data Sets:

In the database, another record is added in the SDIWorkitem table (for the additional Test), and three additional records are added to SDIData (because there are now six Data Sets):

SDIWorkitem

SDIData

The first time you add an instance of the "pH Test" Test Method to a Sample, n "pH" Data Sets (instances of the "pH" Parameter List) are added to the Sample if no other "pH" Data Sets are already associated with the Sample. Suppose Repeat Count = 3 as shown below:

When you add the first instance of the "pH Test" Test Method to the Sample, 3 "pH" Data Sets are added:

In the database, one record is added in the SDIWorkitem table (for the Test), and three records are added to SDIData (one for each Data Set):

SDIWorkitem

SDIData

However, when you add another instance of the "pH Test" Test Method to the same Sample, no additional "pH" Data Sets are added because there is at least one "pH" Data Set already associated with the Sample:

In the database, another record is added in the SDIWorkitem table (for the additional Test), but no additional records are added to SDIData (because no Data Sets were added):

SDIWorkitem

SDIData

The WorkitemItemId column in the SDIWorkitemItem table records these relationships in decimal notation of the format x.y, where x is used to identify Parameter Lists in a Test Method, and y is used to identify Data Sets (instances of each Parameter List). For example:

If the Test Method contains one Parameter List and 3 Data Sets have been added:

If the Test Method contains two Parameter Lists and 3 Data Sets have been aded to each:

"Retest Only" means that the Parameter List will be added to the Sample only when it is added for the first time, or when doing a Retest operation.

The "forcenew" property of the AddSDIWorkitem Action can override the Test Method configuration as follows:

Test Method Groups	Top

As noted in the Overview, a "Test Method Group" can host Parameter Lists, Specifications, and other "Standard Test Methods". In the example below:

The Tests detail identifies their relation to each other:

Icon	Description
	Parent Test Method Group
	Child Test Method (child of the parent Test Method Group)
	Standalone Test Method (Test Method with no parent Test Method Group)

When moving these items:

Move	Select...	Result
	Parent Test Method Group	Entire Test Method Group moves upward (parent and its children), depending on the row above the selected parent: Row Above Result Standalone Test Method Selected parent moves above the standalone in the row above. Child Test Method Selected parent moves above the parent of the child in the row above.
	Standalone Test Method	Depends on the row above the selected standalone: Row Above Result Standalone Test Method Selected standalone moves above the standalone in the row above. Child Test Method Selected standalone moves above the parent of the child in the row above.
	Child Test Method	Child Test Methods can move only within a Test Method Group, so the row above will always be a child. The selected child therefore moves above the child in the row above. Nothing happens if the row above is a parent.
	Parent Test Method Group	Entire Test Method Group moves downward (parent and its children), depending on the row below the selected parent: Row Below Result Standalone Test Method Selected parent moves below the standalone in the row below. Parent Test Method Selected parent moves below the last child Test Method of the Parent Test Method in the row below.
	Standalone Test Method	Depends on the row above the selected standalone: Row Below Result Standalone Test Method Selected standalone moves below the standalone in the row below. Parent Test Method Selected standalone moves below the last child Test Method of the Parent Test Method in the row below.
	Child Test Method	Child Test Methods can move only within a Test Method Group, so the row below will always be a child. The selected child therefore moves below the child in the row below. Nothing happens if the row below is a parent or standalone.

The SDIWorkitem List page described in Manage Tests lists only child and standalone SDIWorkitems (Tests). Parent SDIWorkItems are not listed.

Rules	Top

This section describes Rules that can be applied to determine the behavior of Test Methods.

Definitions

These Rules can be defined for Parameter Lists:

The above Rules are configured in the "Parameter List" tab for both Standard Workitems and Workitem Groups.

Include Rules

"Include Rules" determine when to apply the "Availability Rules" and "Add Rules". The default is "This Rule Applies Always".

"This Rule Applies When" applies the Availability or Add Rules only for the specified SDCs or Reference Type. The Parameter List (SDIWorkitemItem) is added to the SDI. The Availability Rules determine when it becomes available.

The SDC or Reference Type is configured using the Data Entry Policy property "WorkitemItem Rule → Include Rule Column" as shown below.

When "This Rule Applies When" is used with an Add Rule:

When "This Rule Applies When" is used with an Availability Rule: If the column value does not match, the Default Procedural Availability Rule is used.

"This Item Applies When" works in a manner similar to "This Rule Applies When", with the exception that "This Item Applies When" requires that the defined conditions are met before adding the Parameter List (SDIWorkitemItem) to the SDI.

Availability Rules and Add Rules

Availability Rules and Add Rules can be triggered by Parameter Limit Status, Parameter Limit Type Status, and Spec Condition of Data Items.

Default Availability Rules: • New Parameter Lists are set to "Make Available Initially". • For backward-compatibility, existing Availablity Rules are set to "Make Available Initially". • Default Procedural Availability Rule: For backward-compatibility, Procedural Parameter Lists in a Test Method that contains a Preparation Parameter List are set to "Make Available when all Data Sets of all Parameter Lists of Type Preparation are Completed", as shown below. NOTE: This rule enforces the system rule for Samples that have Preparation and Procedural Data Sets, as described in Data Entry for Preparation and Procedural Data Sets.

Rules can be defined to execute after a specified time interval has passed with respect to any date field of Sample, Test (SDIWorkitem), or Data Set (SDIData). The appropriate Action is added to the ToDo List with the Due Date calculated by the Rule.

Application Rules

All "Application Rules" add Child Test Methods (Child Workitems) to the SDI, but each Rule determines when the Child Test Methods are applied to the SDI. "Application Rules" are configured in the "Test Method" tab for Workitem Groups.

Adding and Applying Tests is discussed in Adding and Maintaining Tests → Adding Tests to Samples → Adding Versus Applying Tests.

When the Workitem Group is added to an SDI:

This can be used with the Include Rule to base the selected operation on the column value of the SDI. This is configured using the Data Entry Policy in the same manner as the Include Rules. When the Workitem Group is applied to the SDI and the column value does not match, that specific Child Workitem is considered to be not applicable for the SDI. The corresponding SDIWorkitemItem is therefore not created for the Child Workitem in the Workitem Group.

A Trigger Time Control similar in functionality to the Trigger Time Control for Availability and Add Rules, except that Data Sets (SDIData) are excluded (the time interval is with respect to any date field of Sample or Test (SDIWorkitem).

In the following descriptions of Application Rules, the Workitems referenced in each Rule are in the same (current) Workitem Group.

"Reflex Rules" conditionally add and apply SDIWorkitems (Tests) associated with these SDCs based on an event in a different SDIWorkitem. Reflex Rules are defined in the "Test" tab of the sdidetailmaint(workitem) Element in the Product, Sample Point, Consumable Type, and Location Maintenance pages.

You can define Reflex Rules for Standard Workitems only. You cannot specify Reflex Rules for Workitem Groups or their Child Workitems.

When an SDC with a Reflex Rule (other than the default) is added to a Sample, a "Virtual Workitem Group" is created. It is assigned the WorkitemId "_Reflex". This is an SDIWorkitem Group that is hidden throughout the user interface (Test Method List page, SDIWorkitemList page, "Test" tab on Sample detail, and the Navigator). Reflex Rules are persisted in SDIWorkitem.ReflexRule.

In general, the behavior of a Virtual Workitem Group is similar to any other Workitem Group. However, the Virtual Workitem Group always precedes all other WorkItem Groups added to the Sample from the relevant SDC (such as Product). When any SDIWorkitem of the source SDI (such as Product, SamplePoint, etc.) has a Reflex Rule applied, the CopySDIDetail Action creates a Virtual Workitem Group.

Reflex Rules do not specify Include Rules. Similar in principle to Application Rules, Reflex Rules always add the Workitems to the SDI, but the Rules determine when they are applied to the SDI.

When the SDC (Product, SamplePoint, ReagentType, or Location) is added to an SDI (such as Sample):

Adding and Applying Tests is discussed in Adding and Maintaining Tests → Adding Tests to Samples → Adding Versus Applying Tests.

Detail Elements	Top

Some changes made to detail elements may require a page refresh before taking effect.

Versioning	Top

Test Methods are Versioned, allowing you to use the "New Version" button on the Test Method List page and the "Approve Version" button on the Test Method Maintenance page to maintain Versions. For more information, see these sections in Concepts of Versioning: