Unlocking the Veeva Vault: Day 2 - Platform Essentials for Admins

This video provides an in-depth exploration of objects within the Veeva Vault platform, serving as a foundational guide for system and business administrators. The speaker, part of the "Anitech Talk" series, aims to demystify the core components that underpin Veeva environments, emphasizing their role in organizing data and driving automation for efficient business processes. The session is framed as "Day 2" of a platform essentials series, indicating its focus on building fundamental knowledge for those new to Veeva or seeking to deepen their understanding of its administrative aspects.

The presentation begins by defining an "object" in Veeva Vault as analogous to a "table" in a traditional database, serving as a container for related information. It distinguishes between standard objects, which are pre-configured by Veeva for specific applications like Product, Study, or Country, and custom objects, which administrators can create to meet unique business requirements. A key theme is the application-specific nature of Veeva's data model, where each Vault application—such as Regulatory Information Management (RIM), Quality Management System (QMS), Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS), eTMF, or PromoMats—possesses its own distinct set of standard objects tailored to its functional domain.

The video then delves into the granular components and capabilities of Veeva objects. It explains concepts like object classes (standard classifications applying to multiple objects with shared fields, e.g., User Role Setup), object types (classifications within an object to differentiate similar but not identical data, e.g., medicinal product vs. clinical trial product under a 'Product' object), object data records (individual entries within an object), and object fields (attributes holding details for each record, like text, date, or picklist types). Furthermore, it elaborates on object relationships, distinguishing between parent-child relationships (e.g., a Study having multiple Sites, where closing the parent closes the children) and reference relationships (basic lookups between objects, e.g., linking a User object to a Product object). The discussion concludes by highlighting various administrative capabilities associated with objects, including enhanced record selection, reporting, dynamic access control, attachment management, configurable page layouts, and field-level encryption.

Key Takeaways:

• Veeva Objects as Core Data Structures: In Veeva Vault, objects are fundamental data model elements, akin to database tables, used to organize and manage information. Examples include 'Product,' 'Study,' and 'Country,' which serve as containers for related data.
• Standard vs. Custom Objects: Veeva provides a suite of standard objects tailored to its various applications. However, administrators have the flexibility to create custom objects to address specific business needs or unique data requirements not covered by standard configurations.
• Application-Specific Data Models: Each Veeva Vault application (e.g., RIM, QMS, CTMS, eTMF, PromoMats) comes with its own distinct set of standard objects, providing essential context for its specific business processes and making each application unique.
• Object Classes for Shared Behavior: Object classes are classifications that apply to multiple objects, providing a standard set of fields and behaviors. Examples include 'User Role Setup' and 'User Task,' which streamline configuration across similar object types.
• Object Types for Data Granularity: Object types allow organizations to store similar but not identical data within a single object. For instance, a 'Product' object could have 'Medicinal Product' and 'Clinical Trial Product' as distinct object types, each with specific fields.
• Object Data Records and Fields: Object data records are the individual entries within an object, while object fields are the attributes (e.g., text, date, picklist) that hold detailed information associated with each record.
• Understanding Object Relationships: Veeva supports two primary types of object relationships: parent-child relationships (hierarchical, where a parent object can have multiple children, and actions on the parent can affect children, like a Study having multiple Sites) and reference relationships (non-hierarchical lookups to link objects, such as connecting a User object to a Product object).
• Enhanced Object Record Selection: Veeva Vault provides capabilities for enhanced object record selection, allowing users to apply multiple filters to efficiently find and retrieve specific object records.
• Reporting Capabilities: Users and administrators can leverage standard reports provided by Veeva or create custom reports to export specific metadata from objects, enabling data analysis and insights tailored to their requirements.
• Dynamic Access Control for Granular Security: Dynamic Access Control is a crucial capability that allows administrators to restrict user access to specific object records, providing granular security through matching custom and shared rules.
• Attachment Management: Objects can be configured to enable an attachment section, allowing users to upload and associate files with particular object records, enhancing data completeness and context.
• Configurable Page Layouts: Administrators can modify the page layout of object records to control how fields are displayed, ensuring that critical information is prominently visible and optimizing the user experience.
• Field-Level Encryption for Data Security: For sensitive data, Veeva allows administrators to enable field-level encryption on up to 10 fields per object, providing an extra layer of security for confidential information.

Key Concepts:

• Object: A core element in Veeva Vault's data model, analogous to a database table, used to organize and store related data.
• Standard Object: Pre-defined objects provided by Veeva for specific applications (e.g., Product, Study).
• Custom Object: User-defined objects created by administrators to meet unique business requirements.
• Object Class: A classification that applies to multiple objects, sharing a common set of fields and behaviors.
• Object Type: A sub-classification within an object that allows for storing similar but not identical data, often with distinct field configurations.
• Object Data Record: An individual entry or instance within an object.
• Object Field: An attribute or data point associated with an object data record.
• Parent-Child Relationship: A hierarchical relationship where one object (parent) can have multiple related objects (children), and actions on the parent can impact the children.
• Reference Relationship: A non-hierarchical relationship that links two objects, typically for lookup purposes.
• Dynamic Access Control: A security mechanism to provide granular access to specific object records based on defined rules.
• Field-Level Encryption: A security feature that encrypts data within specific fields to protect sensitive information.

Tools/Resources Mentioned:

• Veeva Vault Platform
• Veeva RIM (Regulatory Information Management)
• Veeva QMS (Quality Management System)
• Veeva CTMS (Clinical Trial Management System)
• Veeva eTMF (Electronic Trial Master File)
• Veeva PromoMats