Software Development plan The project objectives are to facilitate connectivity between the various departments, its diverse employees, and between the health system itself and external health systems. Only the information that deals with the needs of primary health care system should be included. This involves details of patients, details of their treatment; details of expenses and reimbursement; details of third party payers; details of hospital staff; details of medical equipment; clinical transactions; assessments; admissions; and so forth. The design objective, in other words, should be to increase information flow through integration, to improve patient care, to decrease mistakes, and to lower possibility of mistakes occurring.
Software Development Project: Process, Organization, And Individuals
It is obviously necessary to establish the basic parameters of a software development project before detailed planning begins, from determining the specific objectives to forming an assessment of the basic needs and phases that will be part of the project. Once this is completed, however, the real work of forming a plan for carrying out the project, assigning responsibilities, and ensuring that the project will work within established hierarchies and operational procedures must begin. The following paragraphs will detail the process model, organizational structure, and individual responsibilities that will enable the development project to be successfully carried out. With this understanding explicitly and consciously in place, the project will be able to proceed efficiently and effectively.
Process Model
The lifecycle model that will be utilized in the adoption of a new primary health care data and communications system will be the evolutionary delivery project lifecycle model. Combining certain aspects of what are known as the evolutionary prototyping model and the staged delivery model, this particular lifecycle model emphasizes ongoing development built up from an initial implementation of basic/core functions (Business eSolutions, 2012). This approach will allow the basic communication software system to be put in place more quickly, and functionality and usability will grow rapidly as other elements are added, modified, and solidified within the software system as a whole (BE, 2012).
Initial planning is a major component of this lifecycle model, as failure to develop a detailed, comprehensive, and well-integrated plan from both management and technical perspectives carries a high risk of project failure or inefficiency (BE, 2012). The planning phase could take as long as four months to complete, and while it is important to conduct this phase efficiently it should not be rushed or cut short due to time or budget constraints, as this phase will truly be the decisive factor in the ultimate success of the project (BE, 2012). After the planning has been completed, initial implementation should only take another few months at most, with the basic communication system in place possibly as early as six weeks from the completion of planning. Following this, the system will continue to receive additional features and modification for at least a six-month period, until reaching completion.
Organizational Structure
As with most healthcare organizations, there is a complex and rigid organizational structure in place in this institution that will assist in the carrying out of the software development and implementation plan (Glickman et al., 2007). The chain of command for this particular project will primarily involve the medical administrators, including head physicians and nurses in various departments, all reporting to the project manager in the IT department in terms of issues and successes with the system as planning and implementation occur. Coordination with non-medical administrators in terms of budget and systems compatibility will also be necessary, however there should not be a problem in building this chain of command with existing systems.
Individual Responsibilities
You’re 70% through this paper. Sign up to read the full paper.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.