Reporter sample lifecycle#

A Reporter sample moves through a sequence of states that mirror a clinical workflow. Each state has a clear purpose, expected handoff artifacts, and role ownership.

State diagram#

PENDING → ANALYSIS → REVIEW → REPORT → CLOSED
  ↓          ↓          ↓        ↓
  └──────────└─REJECTED─└────────┘

States and responsibilities#

State

Purpose

Typical owner

Handoff artifact

PENDING

The sample is registered but analysis has not started.

ReporterDataEntryOperator

Patient/order record, biosample metadata, phenotype information.

ANALYSIS

Sequencing data is uploaded and the pipeline is running.

BioinformaticsScientist

Input datasets, running or completed workflow run.

REVIEW

Results are available and ready for interpretation and curation.

MedicalTechnologist, MedicalDirector

Curated variants, interpretations, comments.

REPORT

The report has been generated and is awaiting final sign-off.

LaboratorySupervisor, MedicalDirector

Draft PhenopacketReport.

CLOSED

The report is signed out and the case is complete.

MedicalDirector

Signed PhenopacketReport.

REJECTED

The sample or report is rejected and sent back for rework.

MedicalDirector, LaboratorySupervisor

Rejection reason and instructions for the receiving stage.

Transitions#

From

To

Typical action

Who can trigger

PENDING

ANALYSIS

Upload data and launch the analysis pipeline.

MedicalTechnologist, BioinformaticsScientist.

ANALYSIS

REVIEW

Pipeline completes successfully.

BioinformaticsScientist.

REVIEW

REPORT

Curation is complete and the report is drafted.

LaboratorySupervisor.

REVIEW

ANALYSIS

Results are insufficient or the pipeline must be rerun.

MedicalTechnologist with a rework reason.

REPORT

CLOSED

Final sign-off by the MedicalDirector.

MedicalDirector.

REPORT

REJECTED

Report is rejected and returned to REVIEW or ANALYSIS.

MedicalDirector or LaboratorySupervisor.

REJECTED

ANALYSIS / REVIEW / REPORT

Corrective action is completed and the case is resubmitted.

Owner of the receiving stage.

Rollback rules#

  • Rollback should always be accompanied by a reason and an audit trail.

  • Moving backward to ANALYSIS typically requires new or corrected data, a pipeline rerun, or a failed-quality review.

  • Moving backward from REPORT to REVIEW is usually for report corrections before sign-off.

  • A CLOSED report should generally not be edited; amendments should create a new report version or re-open through a controlled amendment process.

Audit expectations#

Every state change is expected to be recorded with:

  • The timestamp.

  • The user who performed the action.

  • The reason or comment, when required.

  • The resulting state and any associated report version.

Consult your organization’s standard operating procedures for exact audit and compliance requirements.