Chapter 4 - System Selection Flashcards
legacy system
a type of information system that uses older technology but may still perform optimally
system development life cycle (SDLC)
a six-step model for developing information systems:
(1) project planning
(2) system analysis
(3) information system design
(4) information system implementation
(5) evaluation of implementation
(6) information system maintenance
feasibility study
an assessment of the practicality of a proposed plan or project
feasible (adjective)
(1) capable of being done or carried out
(2) capable of being used or dealt with successfully
(3) REASONABLE, LIKELY
tangible benefits
benefits that are easy to quantify in dollars
intangible benefits
benefits that cannot be quantified monetarily
SMART methodology
a strategy for writing goals; it stands for: Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-based
project management
a formal set of principles and procedures that help control the activities associated with implementing a usually large undertaking to achieve a specific goal, such as an information system project
project team
a collection of individuals representing various disciplines, such as billing, clinician, administration, or information technology, that are assigned to work on a project
project manager
a person who is responsible for ensuring that the project plan stays within the designated timeline, issues are resolved, desired outcomes are met, and customer satisfaction is achieved
change management
The formal process of introducing change, getting it adopted, and diffusing it throughout the healthcare organization; Although some people welcome change, most have a natural aversion to it. A great deal of change management involves reducing these fears and preparing them for what is to come.
project
a plan and course of action that will address a specific objective, made up of a series of activities and tasks with defined start and stop dates. The plan has targeted objectives and deliverables to be accomplished. The project will need specific resources assigned to it in order to be completed; a project frequently has a separate budget that sets limits on spending.
information systems project steering committee
a managerial group responsible for every information system acquisition project in the healthcare organization. Each project team will report back to the steering committee. The steering committee’s role is to ensure that the strategic information system is being efficiently and effectively implemented and that the project stays on target
chief medical information officer (CMIO)
a person who acts as a liaison between physicians and the information technology staff
chief analytics officer (CAO)
a senior-level executive that heads up a company’s data analytics operations, transforming data into business value, and who drives data-related business change
user task force
a group of users, who will ultimately be using the information system, who test the information system and perform other project-related tasks for which the information systems project steering committee receives feedback
vendor
a person or company offering something for sale, especially a trader in the street
project definition
a statement that identifies the purpose of the project, how the project links to the organization’s business strategy, the goals of the project, and the scope of the project
scope creep
a word for what happens when items not included in the original scope are added after the project has begun. For example, a project starts out to implement an EHR in a medical clinic and then the decision is made to add the EHR to the outpatient surgery area. The needs of these two areas are different, so more time and resources would be required. These additions to the project will increase the time needed for the project, the money allocated and the resources (training resources, staff, and so forth) required to accomplish it.
scope (project management)
the combined objectives and requirements needed to complete a project
Gantt chart
a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule, named after its inventor, Henry Gantt
PERT chart
stands for: program (or project) evaluation and review technique (PERT); a statistical tool used in project management, which was designed to analyze and represent the tasks involved in completing a given project
critical path
the longest possible continuous pathway taken from the initial event to the terminal event. It determines the total calendar time required for the project; and, therefore, any time delays along the critical path will delay the reaching of the terminal event by at least the same amount
optimistic time
the minimum possible time required to accomplish an activity (o) or a path (O), assuming everything proceeds better than is normally expected
pessimistic time
the maximum possible time required to accomplish an activity (p) or a path (P), assuming everything goes wrong (but excluding major catastrophes)
PERT activity
the actual performance of a task which consumes time and requires resources (such as labor, materials, space, machinery). It can be understood as representing the time, effort, and resources required to move from one event to another. A PERT activity cannot be performed until the predecessor event has occurred.
PERT sub-activity
a PERT activity can be further decomposed into a set of sub-activities. For example, activity A1 can be decomposed into A1.1, A1.2 and A1.3. Sub-activities have all the properties of activities; in particular, a sub-activity has predecessor or successor events just like an activity. A sub-activity can be decomposed again into finer-grained sub-activities.
predecessor event
an event that immediately precedes some other event without any other events intervening. An event can have multiple predecessor events and can be the predecessor of multiple events
successor event
an event that immediately follows some other event without any other intervening events. An event can have multiple successor events and can be the successor of multiple events.
PERT event
a point that marks the start or completion of one or more activities. It consumes no time and uses no resources. When it marks the completion of one or more activities, it is not “reached” (does not occur) until all of the activities leading to that event have been completed
status report
periodic updates on the current state of the project, what has been accomplished, and what issues have been encountered
systems analysis
an important process of collecting, organizing, and evaluating data on the healthcare organization and the information that it needs
functional requirements
requirements that describe the functionality that an information system should be able to perform
Go-live (healthcare)
the official time and date that the healthcare organization begins using the new information system
internal scanning
identifying changes within the healthcare organization that will impact the information system, such as if new services or new clinics will be implemented
external scanning
identifying changes outside of the healthcare organization that will impact the healthcare organization. The healthcare organization may be aware of pending legislation, trends, or other issues that may impact the information system under consideration. Understanding the environment helps ensure that the information system will work today and for the expected future.
Likert scale
typically a five, seven, or nine-point agreement scale (e.g. strongly agree, neither agree nor disagree, strongly disagree) used to measure respondents’ agreement with various statements
scale
a set of levels or numbers which are used in a particular system of measuring things or are used when comparing things
tabulate (verb)
(1) to count, record, or list systematically
2) to put into tabular form (tables with rows and columns
structured interview
An interview where everyone is asked the same questions. This improves analysis of the findings but does not encourage the interviewee to talk openly about pertinent issues, thus taking the risk that important data will be overlooked.
unstructured interview
an interview where the interviewer does not have a list of questions but rather gets the interviewees talking about their jobs, their data needs, and other issues
semistructured interview
a combination of the structured and unstructured formats. There are questions that interviewees are asked, but they are also encouraged to discuss in detail their jobs, data needs, and other issues
pertinence
having a clear decisive relevance to the matter in hand
scalability
(1) the capacity to be changed in size or scale
(2) the ability of a computing process to be used or produced in a range of capabilities
integrated information systems
a system of separate applications that are designed to work together
interface (computing)
a shared boundary across which two or more separate components of a computer system exchange information
interfaced information systems
a system where the applications are not designed to work together, but rather are linked through an interface
best-of-breed software
The best system in its referenced niche or category. Although it performs specialized functions better than an integrated system, this type of system is limited by its specialty area.
niche
a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service
request for information (RFI)
a formal document requesting information
request for proposal (RFP)
a type of business correspondence asking for very specific product and contract information that is often sent to a narrow list of vendors that have been preselected after a review of requests for information during the design phase of the SDLC (cycle)
bidder conference
a meeting held by a buyer to discuss a possible purchase with multiple potential suppliers. The bidder conference allows sellers to make inquiries to gather information to use to prepare a bid. It also helps ensure that all bidders have access to the same information.
facilitate (verb)
to make easier, help bring about
weighted decision matrix
a powerful quantitative technique. It evaluates a set of choices (for example, ideas or projects) against a set of criteria you need to take into account; these criteria are weighed differently according to importance
unweighted decision matrix
a decision matrix that evaluates a set of choices (for example, ideas or projects) against a set of criteria you need to take into account; all criteria have the same weight or importance
force majeure
(1) unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract
(2) irresistible compulsion or greater force
escrow
a bond, deed, or other document kept in the custody of a third party and taking effect only when a specified condition has been fulfilled; can also refer to an asset held and then transferred when a condition is fulfilled
software license
a document that describes what can be done with a piece of software
payment milestone
an action or event that triggers payment to the vendor, usually a percentage of the payment due
acceptance testing
a type of testing that occurs after the go-live date. It tests the system to confirm that it is working as expected as per the contract, RFP response, and any other documentation. It is a critical part of the information system implementation because it establishes whether the terms of the contract have been met regarding performance and functionality.
