Perspectives on Healthcare IT, clinical informatics, emerging technology, and life at the intersection of nursing and enterprise systems.
Regression testing is the practice of retesting software after changes to confirm that existing functions still work correctly. This post explains why regression testing is critical for EHR upgrades, build changes, and interfaces, how organizations design test scripts around clinical workflows, manual and automated approaches, common failures it catches, and the role of nurses.
Value stream mapping (VSM) is a Lean technique for documenting and analyzing every step, delay, and handoff involved in delivering a product or service, so that waste can be removed. This post explains how current and future state maps work, how hospitals apply VSM to patient flow and clinical workflows, how it supports health IT projects, and the role of frontline nurses.
Total cost of ownership (TCO) is the full cost of acquiring, implementing, operating, and eventually retiring a system over its life. This post explains what belongs in a health IT TCO analysis, why license price is only a small part, how TCO differs from return on investment, how to compare cloud and on-premises options, and why clinical time is a real cost.
A request for proposal (RFP) is a document that invites vendors to submit proposals for a product or service, often as part of a competitive selection process. This post explains where RFPs fit in health IT vendor selection, how to write requirements and run scripted demonstrations, how to evaluate total cost and fit, and why clinicians should help choose systems they will use.
A use case is a structured description of how a user interacts with a system to achieve a goal, including the normal path and the exceptions. This post explains the parts of a use case, how use cases drive requirements, design, and user acceptance testing, how they compare with user stories, and why clinicians should help write them.
Train the trainer is a model in which experts prepare instructors, often experienced staff, to deliver training to others, multiplying the reach of a small education team. This post explains how the model works in EHR implementations, the roles of credentialed trainers and super users, what research shows about effectiveness, and how nurses contribute.
Project management is the set of principles, methods, and tools used to plan, schedule, and control work so that a project delivers its goals on time, within budget, and at the expected quality. This post explains the project life cycle, the triple constraint, common tools, why health IT projects fail, and how nurses contribute.
In health IT, implementation is the process of installing a new system and making sure it works correctly in the real environment where people use it. This post walks through the phases of an implementation, explains why they fail, describes what research says about unintended consequences, and shows how nurses make Go-Live safer.
The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is the structured sequence of phases an information system moves through, from planning and requirements to design, build, testing, implementation, maintenance, and eventual retirement. This post explains each phase, compares waterfall and agile approaches, shows how the SDLC maps to EHR implementations, and explains where nurses contribute.