---
title: ELNs Revealed! (3/4) How to Implement an ELN
description: Want to find out how to implement an ELN, the pitfalls to avoid, and best practice? Read this blog post to find out!
---

[ADIGILEAP Blog](https://www.adigileap.com/en/blog)

# [ELNs Revealed! (3/4) How to Implement an ELN](https://www.adigileap.com/en/blog/elns-revealed-3/4-how-to-implement-an-eln)

 Written by [Nathan Stanley](https://www.adigileap.com/en/blog/author/nathan) | Oct 30, 2026, 10:23:40 AM

Welcome back! In [Part 1](https://www.adigileap.com/en/blog/eln-1) we covered what an ELN is, and in [Part 2](https://www.adigileap.com/en/blog/eln-2) we explored who uses them, what types exist, and why. Now for the part that might keep you up at night; **implementing one**.

## Why ELN Implementations Can Fail

Starting off on a positive note aren’t we? Truthfully ELN implementations fail more often than you think, and it's rarely because of the software itself \[1\] [\[2\]](https://jcheminf.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13321-017-0221-3.pdf). The most common culprits are:

- **Resistance from senior researchers** 
    - Some scientists have been using paper notebooks for decades. Trying to change that proposes a technological **and** cultural shift. A successful migration will need to address the resistance from researchers who value their established workflows [\[4\]](https://www.astrixinc.com/blog/migrating-from-paper-lab-notebooks-to-an-eln-a-strategic-gxp-framework/), and their own comfort.
- **Overly rigid templates** 
    - Friction at the bench is a common barrier to ELN adoption. Templates designed around audit and regulatory compliance rather than experimental practice can make ELNs feel burdensome and annoying rather than helpful [\[3\]](https://www.sapiosciences.com/blog/driving-long-term-eln-adoption-in-biopharma-rd-after-implementation/).
- **Redundant data entry** 
    - If your scientists have to enter the same data into more than just the ELN, you've already lost them.
- **Insufficient training** 
    - A recent survey found that 90% of researchers emphasised user-friendliness as a key requirement for ELN adoption, while 71% said structured training was essential for success [\[5\]](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42623395/). Hands-off training, instruction booklets and 30-minute webinars don’t exactly win hearts and minds.
- **No clear "why”** 
    - Simply put; if your team doesn't understand *why* they're switching, they won't switch.
- **The “wrong” ELN for the job** 
    - As we’ve already discussed, ELNs do different things for different use cases. Searching “what is the best ELN” and picking the first result would be nice, but unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

 

| **Did you know?** 💡 Traditional tools still dominate! A 2026 survey found that 87% of researchers still use spreadsheets and 85% still use paper notebooks for lab documentation [\[5\]](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42623395/). The ELN has the especially hard task of replacing a way of working, and a culture. |
| --- |

 

## How to deploy an ELN?

Now you know some reasons why ELN implementations fail, you can learn some ways to get around it, and some quick tips for deployment.

To start with, rolling out as large a change as an ELN in an active lab works best as a phased change, rather than one massive switch [\[6\]](https://www.scisure.com/blog/how-to-implement-eln-in-existing-lab). Here's what that can look like in practice:

 

**Phase 1: Establish What You've Got**

Before you touch any software, establish your current state. Identify the types of data entries commonly scrawled in your paper notebooks;

- protocols
- results
- images
- graphs
- notes

and consider how they can be represented digitally [\[7\]](https://www.lablynx.com/resources/articles/migrating-to-digital-eln/). You can't digitise it if you don’t understand it!

**Phase 2: Perform a Pilot of a Functional Area**

Put together an (ideally enthusiastic) team from a functional area of the organisation for them begin pilot testing the ELN. Then anyone who will be using that functionality will be in the team, using the ELN in a real-world environment and building experience working (and eventually migrating) over to the ELN.

For example, you could select a team to test using the ELN in the Medicinal Chemistry area; the team would then perform their normal duties designing, producing and verifying compounds etc, which produces two positives:

- You end up with one area of the organisations' functional areas fully tested. As an organisation can be split in any number of ways, this means you won’t have to make changes if a different team does things a different way.
- The other benefit is you now have a team who are comfortable operating a core functionality of the organisation in a real-world environment.

Congratulations! You’ve just established your first team of change champions. This will help down the line with change management and adoption, as well as training!

**Phase 3: Refine and Expand**

Take what you learned from the pilot, fix what broke, and expand to the next functional area. Use named owners and phased milestones [\[8\]](https://www.scisure.com/blog/how-to-transition-from-another-eln). Track active users, template use, and retired paper forms across the first 90 days [\[9\]](https://www.scisure.com/blog/implementing-eln-in-a-new-lab).

**Phase 4: Full Rollout and Continuous Improvement**

This should leave you with refined templates, trained champions, and a clear picture of what works. Roll out to the rest of the organisation but carry on measuring - the best ELN implementations are never truly "finished" [\[10\]](https://www.scisure.com/fr/blog/i-have-an-eln-now-what).

 

| **Did you know?** 💡 A powerful element of winning support for ELN integration is ongoing support / hypercare. A 2026 survey found that 52% of researchers deemed ongoing technical support essential for success! [\[5\]](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42623395/)) |
| --- |

 

## Train on Tasks, Not Features

This is where most implementations go wrong. Vendors love to show you the bells and whistles; every button, menu, configuration option.

Your scientists will very rarely care about that, so it pays to train them on real tasks[\[8\]](https://www.scisure.com/blog/how-to-transition-from-another-eln):

- Create a new experiment record
- Link samples to experiments
- Attach instrument outputs
- Request a review or witness signature
- Retrieve prior work from six months ago

If you can train a scientist to do those five things confidently on day one, that goes a long way to winning them over.

 

## Change Management: The Human Element

As mentioned in previous sections, a big part of ELN implementation is adoption – the problem can be rooted in how people feel about the integration, and less the tech of the ELN itself.

By introducing an ELN, you will be changing a way of life for some researchers, which may have been functioning for several decades. There will be team members who are thrilled about the change, and some who will be not so thrilled[\[12\]](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/68d881356324f4f94df420a5/69890eb067c88dd8b9d101ec_Labforward_Tips-for-a-successful-ELN-transition-in-your-laboratory.pdf). That’s the human element of adoption, and it’s important to manage it very carefully.

The elements of change management that separate successful implementations from failed ones are:

**Find your champions**

You’ll need your early adopters. Find them, empower them, and let them convince their peers naturally.

**Communicate the "why"**

At a baseline they know how it will help them (regulatory compliance, data integrity, etc.), give them the *personal* "why." How will this make their day *easier*? How will this *save them time*?

**Accept the dip**

Productivity will inevitably decrease during the transition, for a time. Plan for it, communicate it, and don't panic when it happens.

**Celebrate small wins**

First experiment fully documented in the ELN? Celebrate it. First audit that went smoothly because of digital records? Get the box of Heroes out.

**Listen and adapt**

If your scientists are telling you the templates don't work, don’t ignore them. The ELN should adapt to the science, not the other way around.

 

## New Lab vs. Existing Lab: Different Beasts

All of the above doesn’t just apply to labs which are freshly integrating an ELN from nothing - not all implementations start from the same place, and the approach should change depending on the scenario.

 

**Scenario:** New lab

**Key approach:** Set up the ELN before experiments begin. The first records you create become the foundation for how your team structures projects, traces samples, and trusts research later [\[9\]](https://www.scisure.com/blog/implementing-eln-in-a-new-lab).

**Watch out for:** Over-engineering templates before you know what your lab needs. Start simple, then iterate.

 

**Scenario:** Existing Lab (paper)

**Key approach:** Migrate active studies first, build reusable experiment templates, and run a structured 90-day rollout with clear adoption metrics[\[11\]](https://www.scisure.com/blog/paper-vs-electronic-in-modern-research).

**Watch out for:** Trying to digitise every historical paper notebook. Focus on active and future work.

 

**Scenario:** Migrating from another ELN

**Key approach:** Pilot migrations with messy datasets, use named owners and phased milestones, and provide workflow-based training [\[8\]](https://www.scisure.com/blog/how-to-transition-from-another-eln).

**Watch out for:** Assuming the new ELN works the same as the old one. Try to forget what you know, retrain, and migrate.

 

## The More You Know!

Now you’ve had a crash course, you’ve taken the first step to adopting your own (or new!) ELN. You’re aware of the resistance, the failed pilots, the templates that nobody uses, but you’re also aware of how to address that, and do it properly.

A proper transition to an ELN should involve phased rollouts, change management, and genuine care for the human(s) behind the science.

We’ll be wrapping up this series on ELNs soon, but stay tuned! There’ll be plenty more articles on the way talking about any and all elements of lab transformation (there may even be a spoiler in the next article)!

If you need help with any stage of your ELN integration, want to hear our own take for a more digital solution, or if you simply want to talk to someone about issues you're experiencing in your lab, [please click here](https://adigileap.com/meetings/matthew1539?hsCtaAttrib=205124222286&uuid=de89a3ab-3258-4038-b514-929379f9bdec) to book a meeting with us to discuss!

 

*Hasta la vista,*

\- Nathan and the ADIGILEAP team.

 

\[1\] https://slas-technology.org/article/S2472-6303(22)01628-4/fulltext

\[2\] [https://jcheminf.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13321-017-0221-3.pdf](https://jcheminf.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s13321-017-0221-3.pdf) 

\[3\] [https://www.sapiosciences.com/blog/driving-long-term-eln-adoption-in-biopharma-rd-after-implementation/](https://www.sapiosciences.com/blog/driving-long-term-eln-adoption-in-biopharma-rd-after-implementation/) 

\[4\] [https://www.astrixinc.com/blog/migrating-from-paper-lab-notebooks-to-an-eln-a-strategic-gxp-framework/](https://www.astrixinc.com/blog/migrating-from-paper-lab-notebooks-to-an-eln-a-strategic-gxp-framework/) 

\[5\] [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42623395/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42623395/) 

\[6\] [https://www.scisure.com/blog/how-to-implement-eln-in-existing-lab](https://www.scisure.com/blog/how-to-implement-eln-in-existing-lab) 

\[7\] [https://www.lablynx.com/resources/articles/migrating-to-digital-eln/](https://www.lablynx.com/resources/articles/migrating-to-digital-eln/) 

\[8\] [https://www.scisure.com/blog/how-to-transition-from-another-eln](https://www.scisure.com/blog/how-to-transition-from-another-eln) 

\[9\] [https://www.scisure.com/blog/implementing-eln-in-a-new-lab](https://www.scisure.com/blog/implementing-eln-in-a-new-lab) 

\[10\] [https://www.scisure.com/fr/blog/i-have-an-eln-now-what](https://www.scisure.com/fr/blog/i-have-an-eln-now-what) 

\[11\] [https://www.scisure.com/blog/paper-vs-electronic-in-modern-research](https://www.scisure.com/blog/paper-vs-electronic-in-modern-research) 

\[12\] [https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/68d881356324f4f94df420a5/69890eb067c88dd8b9d101ec\_Labforward\_Tips-for-a-successful-ELN-transition-in-your-laboratory.pdf](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/68d881356324f4f94df420a5/69890eb067c88dd8b9d101ec_Labforward_Tips-for-a-successful-ELN-transition-in-your-laboratory.pdf) 

[View full post](https://www.adigileap.com/en/blog/elns-revealed-3/4-how-to-implement-an-eln)

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