Incremental Modernization of a Desktop LIMS: Web-Based Laboratory Workflows
Brain Station 23 partnered with a leading environmental and analytical testing laboratory to evolve its mature desktop laboratory information management system through continuous feature delivery, architecture improvements, and a phased web modernization strategy. Starting with the existing desktop application, the team delivered new desktop capabilities in parallel with building a modern web channel and REST API, beginning with PLM bench sheet workflows, without disrupting day-to-day laboratory operations.
Platforms
Desktop Application, Web Application, REST API
Technology Used
React.js, Tailwind CSS, ASP.NET, Entity Framework Core, WinForms, DevExpress, Ms SQL
Industry
Environmental & Analytical Laboratory Testing
Tags
LIMS Modernization, Workflow Digitization, Desktop-to-Web Migration, Asbestos Analysis
Overview
The client operates a comprehensive laboratory information management system (LIMS) used to manage the full lab lifecycle: order intake, chain of custody, sample distribution, multi-department analysis, quality control, reporting, and billing.
The journey began with a feature-rich desktop application, a WinForms system backed by a shared SQL Server database with 314+ entities, spanning 6 laboratory departments (PLM, PCM, TEM, Materials/XRD, Chemistry, and Microbiology). Brain Station 23 took ownership of ongoing delivery, shipping new features, refining architecture, and maintaining uninterrupted desktop operations for laboratory staff.
Recognizing that analysts needed tablet-friendly access at the bench, the team introduced a parallel modernization track, an incremental, feature-by-feature transition to the web rather than a rip-and-replace approach. The first production web module, PLM Bench Sheet, allows analysts to complete polarized light microscopy workflows in the browser while the desktop application continues to serve the broader LIMS footprint. Both channels read from and write to the same laboratory database, ensuring continuity and zero disruption.
Business Challenges
- Business-Critical Desktop System: The existing desktop application was mature and business-critical, so any modernization effort had to avoid disrupting ongoing laboratory operations across six departments.
- Tablet Access at the Bench: Analysts working at the microscope needed tablet-friendly data entry, but the desktop UI was not optimized for touch devices.
- Strict Validation Rules: Bench sheet data required strict validation consistent with desktop rules, including 100% component totals and mandatory asbestos identification.
- Multi-Layer Sample Complexity: Samples could contain multiple component layers requiring dynamic creation, editing, and per-layer validation.
- Optical Property Management: Each asbestos result required optical property management covering morphology, refractive indices, treatments, and colors.
- Fragmented Lab Notes: Quick Notes, other status, and lab notes needed to be consolidated into a single final laboratory note.
- Risk of Data Loss: Users could navigate away before saving validated bench sheet data, creating a risk of data loss.
- Two Parallel Development Tracks: The modernization had to coexist with continuous desktop feature delivery: two development tracks running on one shared database.
- Layered Access Control: Secure access was required across desktop, web, and API layers, including Active Directory and database roles for desktop access and JWT-based authentication for web and API access.
Solution Provided
- Continuous Desktop Delivery: Brain Station 23 continued delivery and enhancement of the desktop application (2,400+ source files, 440 ViewModels, 343 analytical reports) to preserve and extend existing laboratory operations.
- Layered REST API: The team architected a clean, layered REST API on .NET 8 with 13 controllers and 14+ business endpoints, sharing the same SQL Server schema as the desktop.
- Modern Web Application: Built a React 19 single-page application with touch-friendly, larger input fields designed for tablet-based bench work.
- PLM Bench Sheet Module: Delivered as the first web feature: sample distribution queue, batch run loading, multi-layer sample editing, optical properties, sample status panels, analyst signatures, and landscape PDF export.
- Desktop-Aligned Validation: Implemented frontend validation aligned with desktop rules: 100% percentage enforcement, asbestos component requirements, and attribute and color ID validation across 9 allowed attribute types.
- Real-Time Calculations: Added real-time percentage calculations with visual mismatch indicators during data entry.
- Navigation Guards: Introduced warnings that alert users about unsaved changes before leaving the bench sheet.
- Modular Optical Properties: Created reusable components with morphology lookup, draft persistence in browser storage, and API-backed saving.
- Consolidated Lab Notes: Automated final laboratory note generation by combining Quick Notes, Other Status, and Lab Notes into one final note.
- Advanced Queue Search: Enabled sample distribution search with multi-field filtering across department, order, analysis, TAT, due date, and analyst assignment, with paginated results of 20 records per page.
- Automated CI/CD: Deployed pipelines (GitHub Actions to IIS) for both the API and web frontend across development, QA, and staging environments.
- Parallel Development: Desktop features and web modernization proceeded simultaneously on the shared database without creating schema conflicts.
Impact
Operational Efficiency
- Enabled Tablet-Based Bench Sheet Entry: Analysts complete PLM workflows at the microscope instead of returning to a desktop workstation.
- Reduced Workflow Friction: Sample distribution queue, bench sheet entry, validation, signature capture, and PDF export are available in one unified web workflow.
- Faster Report Turnaround: Landscape bench sheet PDFs are generated instantly in the browser, without opening the legacy desktop application.
Data Quality & Compliance
- Stricter Validation at Point of Entry: 100% component percentage rules and mandatory asbestos checks are enforced before save, matching desktop business rules.
- Fewer Incomplete Submissions: Real-time percentage indicators and validation alerts help analysts catch mismatches during data entry, not after review.
- Lower Risk of Data Loss: Navigation guards warn users before leaving the bench sheet with unsaved changes.
Business Continuity
- Zero-Disruption Modernization: The full desktop LIMS continued operating across six departments while the first web module was delivered in parallel.
- Single Source of Truth: Desktop and web share one database, so entries are immediately visible across both channels with no duplicate data entry.
- Scalable Modernization Path: The API and web architecture is ready to extend to additional departments (PCM, TEM, Chemistry, and more) without replacing the entire system.
Impact by the Numbers
| Business Outcome | Result | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Lab departments supported on desktop | 6 | Full lab operations continued without interruption |
| Web modules live in Phase 1 | 1 - PLM Bench Sheet | First high-value workflow moved to the web |
| Component validation rule | 100% | Every sample must total 100% before saving |
| Analyst queue search | 20 records per page | Faster lookup of assigned batch runs |
| Deployment environments | 3 - Dev, QA, Staging | Safer, repeatable releases |
| Desktop & web on one database | 314+ entities | No data silos between legacy and modern systems |
| Lab downtime during modernization | 0 days | No operational shutdown required |
Engagement Model: Parallel Evolution, Not Replacement
A key success factor was the deliberate choice to modernize incrementally rather than rewrite the system. The desktop application remains the authoritative system for order management, chain of custody, finance, quality control, multi-department results entry, and analytical reporting. Simultaneously, the web channel grows where mobility and touch-friendly access matter most, starting with PLM bench sheets.
This dual-track model means:
- Existing laboratory staff continue using familiar desktop workflows without being retrained on the full system.
- New web workflows target specific operational pain points (tablet-based entry at the bench) with focused scope.
- Both channels share one SQL Server database: data entered on the web is immediately visible on the desktop, and vice versa.
- The REST API layer grows module by module, eventually supporting additional departments based on business priorities.
- Risk is contained: each web module is independently deployable and testable before the next workflow is migrated.
Appendix: Technical Delivery Metrics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Shared database entities | 314+ |
| Desktop C# source files | 2,400+ |
| Desktop ViewModels | 440 |
| Analytical report modules | 343 |
| REST API controllers | 13 |
| Business REST endpoints | 14+ |
| Web UI source files (TypeScript/React) | 49 |
| Bench sheet UI components | 22+ |
| Validated attribute types | 9 |
| API unit test suites | 8 |
Modernize Lab Workflows Without Disrupting Existing Operations
If your organization operates a mature desktop-based laboratory system that is difficult to use on tablets, expensive to replace entirely, or slow to extend into modern web workflows, Brain Station 23 can help.
We specialize in incremental modernization: delivering new web capabilities feature by feature while keeping your existing system running, improving the architecture along the way, and building on the laboratory data you already have.
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