7 necessities for structured component authoring, part 1

For Life Sciences organizations, agility in the face of regulatory change is essential. In the complex medical authoring process, content development and publishing should be easy and intuitive, and not get in the way of your groundbreaking work.

Why SCA?

In medical authoring, there can be dozens of authors and thousands of updates throughout the drug development lifecycle. SaaS structured component authoring (SCA) solutions help optimize the creation and publishing process via:

  • Reusing components that are locked and not susceptible to errors
  • Maintaining document versioning
  • Effectively communicating updates
  • Streamlining workflows to enable simultaneous authoring and reviewing of content
  • Enabling omni-channel publishing in multiple formats (e.g., Word, PDF, HTML)

SCA can make documentation creation and publishing easier, but not all solutions are created equal.

What should I look for in SCA?

We’ve identified what to look for in SCA to help your medical authoring achieve its potential.

Read on for part one (and stay tuned for part two).

  1. Self-service configuration flexibility

    Your organization, your configuration. When evaluating SCA options, look for a system that will support a wide range of use cases. It should be easy to adjust to the preferred settings that work best for your business.

  2. Simplistic integration

    You don’t want a new tool that puts a drain on your already overworked IT resources, and you don’t need a solution with unnecessary bells and whistles that will never get used. Having fewer function modules to integrate can lower implementation risks and maintenance costs.

  3. Ease of use

    When you’re moving at the speed of innovation, the last thing you want is a lengthy onboarding time to get everyone used to a new program. When selecting your SCA solution, opt for a platform that utilizes a familiarly-designed interface to ensure new users can quickly get up-to-speed and start writing.

  4. Ecosystem integration

    If your organization is considering SCA, don’t forget to evaluate its ability to integrate into a larger IT system. A few questions to ask include: Will it play nicely with other programs that are already in use? What does it take to add a new user?

  5. Security

    In the high-stakes world of medical authoring, the last thing you need to worry about is unauthorized users or confidentiality breaches. Choose a SCA solution that provides strong access management and robust role definition.

  6. Scalability

    Your organization needs SCA that can support a broad range of use cases including clinical, regulatory, medical information, global labeling, manufacturing and more. When choosing your SCA platform seek out one with a solution architecture that can support enterprise-wide deployment.

  7. Audit trail

    In medical authoring, adhering to regulations is a critical component to publishing. Your SCA solution should enable you to create records that are properly maintained as part of your compliance footprint.

Join us next time, for 7 additional capabilities to look for when selecting your SCA. But in the meantime, check out this infographic.

Docuvera: SCA designed for the Life Sciences industry

If you have medical, pharma, or scientific projects that require many different writers, reviewers, and others to contribute over the duration of the publishing process, you need a solution that’s designed with your industry, specifically in mind.

Docuvera is a SaaS solution that gives authors and reviewers the most efficient way to create, review and publish Life Sciences documentation. Schedule a demo today to learn how Docuvera can transform content authoring for your business.

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