Informatics nurses (INs) and informatics nurse specialists (INSs) apply informatics knowledge and skills in the areas of a system development life cycle (SDLC). Graduate-level INSs are particularly well prepared for planning the process for an SDLC. They have the knowledge, skills, and competencies to effectively assume the role of project manager by facilitating interprofessional communication, managing change, and coordinating the process of implementation. Whether the project is small (e.g., departmental) or very large (e.g., system-wide), INSs are central to the success of a health information system project. Careful planning is involved using project management techniques, such as a task/timeline for all phases of an SDLC using a Gantt chart format.
Scenario:
You recently eamed your master’s degree in nursing informatics and have been hired as an informatics nurse specialist at a midsize rural hospital. Diabetes and high blood pressure are growing public health problems in underserved populations living in excess of 45 minutes from the hospital. Much of the population does not have access to the intemet. In an effort to improve access to healthcare services and increase patient accountability in patient-physician interactions, your organization is considering the integration of a telehealth program. Your hospital currently has a modem EHR in place that allows integration across ambulatory care offices associated with the organization. As the team lead, you have been asked to identify a telehealth system that addresses the needs of your community and is compatible with your hospital’s current system.
A. Create a Gantt chart outlining the full SDLC of the integration of your hospital’s new telehealth system that includes each of the following:
• five phases of an SDLC • five major sub-tasks within each phase of the SDLC • specific start dates, finish dates, and task durations for each subtask • designated resource name • task dependencies indicated with arrows • one milestone event in each phase of an SDLC. B. Create a presentation (suggested length of approximately 20 minutes) of your proposed approach to planning the SDLC to the hospital’s executive leadership by doing the following:
- Create a multimedia presentation (e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote) (suggested length of 8-14 slides) for your hospital’s executive leadership that includes the Gantt chart from part A and explains your SDLC approach. Include presenter notes.
- Justify in your multimedia presentation your inclusion of the five subtasks, task owners, timeline, and milestone event in each of the following phases of the SDLC: