Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

What are SOPs?

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), also known as Protocols, describe the steps required to reproduce an assay or part of an experimental workflow.

SOPs can be uploaded in various formats (Word documents, PDFs, e-lab notebooks, code scripts, annotated spreadsheets, …) and stored as assets in FAIRDOM-SEEK. These assets can be linked to Assays (and in ISA-JSON compliant setups also to Studies) to document the procedures applied.

Creating and linking SOPs

Create a new SOP (Protocol Asset)

Go to Create → SOPs
Upload the document or link to an external source
Provide a title, description, version/date, license, etc.
Link the SOP to an existing Project
Set sharing permissions
Click Register

Link SOPs

Link SOPs to Studies or Assays via the dropdown menu when creating or editing the Study or Assay.

Updating SOPs

To update an SOP:

Navigate to the SOPs page
Use Actions -> Register new version to add the revised file or description
Provide version details (e.g. v2.0, date, changelog)
Save the new version

Note: You must have managing rights to update an SOP. If not, ask the asset owner to upload the new version.

Older Assays or Samples remain linked to the previous version, preserving provenance. New Studies or Assays can be linked to the updated SOP.