A computer-implemented method to analyze specimen test articles (150, 600) that include a plurality of testing areas that indicate one of either the presence or absence of a test subject compound in a specimen, the method comprising: receiving, by one or more computing devices, a set of image information that represents an image of each of the plurality of testing areas, each testing area represented by a respective plurality of pixels in the set of image information; and for each of the testing areas determining, by the one or more computing devices, a number of pixels that indicate as one of either the presence or the absence of the test subject compound; for each of the testing areas determining, by the one or more computing devices, if said number of pixels equals or exceeds a first minimum threshold value which indicates that the testing area is positive for the presence of the test subject compound; characterized by further comprising identifying a specimen test article's particular variety (150, 600) based on a machine-readable symbol or textural, numeric or graphical information that identifies said specimen test article's particular variety and that is included in the specimen test article (150, 600), obtaining from a memory a lookup-table (120, 400, 500) that is associated with said variety in response to said identifying a variety of a specimen test article (150, 600), the lookup-table (120, 400, 500) including sets of reference color component values respectively logically associated with a plurality of specimen validity characteristic values or results, and determining the validity of the specimen by the one or more computing devices, which includes determining a distance value for each of said sets of reference color component values to color component values of the color of one or more pixels in a received image of an optical specimen validity marker, the color of which indicates the validity of the specimen, selecting a set among said sets of reference color component values that shows the smallest among said distance values, assessing a specimen validity characteristic based on said selected set among said sets of reference color component values, determining, by the one or more computing devices, a number of testing areas that indicate positive for the presence of the test subject compound, and determining, by the one or more computing devices, if the number of testing areas that indicate positive for the presence of the test subject compound equals or exceeds a second minimum threshold value which indicates an overall positive test result for the presence of the test subject compound. receiving, by one or more computing devices, a set of image information that represents an image of each of the plurality of testing areas, each testing area represented by a respective plurality of pixels in the set of image information; and for each of the testing areas determining, by the one or more computing devices, a number of pixels that indicate as one of either the presence or the absence of the test subject compound; for each of the testing areas determining, by the one or more computing devices, if said number of pixels equals or exceeds a first minimum threshold value which indicates that the testing area is positive for the presence of the test subject compound; characterized by further comprising identifying a specimen test article's particular variety (150, 600) based on a machine-readable symbol or textural, numeric or graphical information that identifies said specimen test article's particular variety and that is included in the specimen test article (150, 600), obtaining from a memory a lookup-table (120, 400, 500) that is associated with said variety in response to said identifying a variety of a specimen test article (150, 600), the lookup-table (120, 400, 500) including sets of reference color component values respectively logically associated with a plurality of specimen validity characteristic values or results, and determining the validity of the specimen by the one or more computing devices, which includes determining a distance value for each of said sets of reference color component values to color component values of the color of one or more pixels in a received image of an optical specimen validity marker, the color of which indicates the validity of the specimen, selecting a set among said sets of reference color component values that shows the smallest among said distance values, assessing a specimen validity characteristic based on said selected set among said sets of reference color component values, determining, by the one or more computing devices, a number of testing areas that indicate positive for the presence of the test subject compound, and determining, by the one or more computing devices, if the number of testing areas that indicate positive for the presence of the test subject compound equals or exceeds a second minimum threshold value which indicates an overall positive test result for the presence of the test subject compound.