NURS 6441: Project Management: Healthcare Information Technology | Week 8

I am surrounded by people with good ideas. I need more people that implement them well.

—Will Weider, CIO, Ministry Health Care

The successful execution of a project requires continual control and monitoring to ensure that the project stays on schedule, on budget, and on specification. The ongoing collection, analysis, and reporting of project data is an essential project management tool for monitoring a project’s status throughout its execution; the information generated by this process can be used by the project team to determine appropriate actions to control the project by bringing its time, cost, and performance back in line with the project plan. Case Project Control: Computerized Physician Order Entry CPOE System.

This week, you consider how to monitor and control a project throughout its execution.

Learning Objectives – Case Project Control: Computerized Physician Order Entry CPOE System Nurs6441

Students will:

• Apply principles of execution and control to a health information technology project
• Generate an MS Project plan

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Coplan, S., & Masuda, D. (2011). Project management for healthcare information technology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

• Chapter 3, “Project Management”
  • • “Scope Control” (pp. 58)
    • “Control Schedule” (pp. 64–67)
    • “Control Costs” (pp. 71–75)

  These three areas of Chapter 3 focus on controlling scope, time, and cost, also referred to as the triple constraints.

Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide) (6th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Author.

• Part 2. The Standard for Project Management
• • • Chapter 4, “Executing Process Group”

  These sections of Chapter 3 explore how to coordinate people and resources in accordance with the project management plan. These sections also cover the processes used to track, review, and regulate a project’s performance.

• Chapter 5, Section 5.6, “Control Scope”
• This section of Chapter 5 explains the process of monitoring a project’s status and scope. The text also describes how to manage changes to the scope baseline.
• Chapter 6, “Project Time Management”
  • • 6.6, “Control Schedule”

  In these pages of Chapter 6, the authors explain the process of monitoring a project’s status to update project progress and manage changes in a schedule baseline.

• Chapter 7, “Project Cost Management”
  • • 7.4, “Control Costs”

  This section of Chapter 7 reviews the processes used to update a project budget and manage changes to the cost baseline.

Cortelyou-Ward, K., & Yniguez, R. (2011). Using monitoring and controlling in an electronic health record module upgrade: A case study. The Health Care Manager, 30(3), 236–241.

This article examines the application of monitoring and controlling to an electronic health record module upgrade. The article makes recommendations related to flexibility, tracking changes, teams, milestones, and testing.

Noblin, A. M., Cortelyou-Ward, K., & Ton, S. (2011). Electronic health record implementations: Applying the principles of monitoring and controlling to achieve success. The Health Care Manager, 30(1), 45–50.

This article explores the principles of monitoring and controlling in the context of an electronic health record implementation. The article also examines issues such as project costs, project progress, schedule controls, quality management, and controlling risks.

Yin G.-L. (2010). Project time and budget monitor and control. Management Science and Engineering, 4(1), 56–61.

The author of this article describes how time and budget can be successfully controlled during a project’s implementation. The author presents techniques for accomplishing this, as well as describing potential pitfalls.

Document: Project Management Tools Available for Apple/Mac Computers (PDF)

This document contains a list of project management tools that are compatible with Apple/Mac computers.

Document: Team Project Overview (PDF)

This document provides an overview of the Team Project you will work on throughout this course.

Required Media – Case Project Control: Computerized Physician Order Entry CPOE System

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013b). Executing, monitoring, and controlling [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 8 minutes.

In this presentation, roundtable participants Dr. Mimi Hassett, Dr. Judy Murphy, and Dr. Susan Newbold discuss the science of executing a project and the art that is involved in the continued monitoring and controlling of it. They talk about the triple constraint of cost, scope, and time and suggest some automated tools and skills that can help in tracking shifting components of a project.

Discussion: Project Control

The actual implementation of a project occurs within the execution phase. During this phase, it is not uncommon for project managers to determine that projects have deviated from the original scope, time, or cost (the “triple constraint”), often due to unforeseen issues. When one element of this “triple constraint” changes, project managers must adjust the remaining two elements in order to satisfy project requirements. Maintaining this balance is one of the greatest challenges a project manager faces.

In this Discussion, you examine scenarios featuring issues that arise during the execution phase of a project. You analyze how you would modify the project in terms of scope, time, and cost in order to resolve the issues and fulfill project requirements. You also explain how you would communicate these modifications to key stakeholders.

Consider the following scenarios.

1. You are the lead project manager tasked with implementing a hospital’s new patient identification and tracking system. The currently planned system is designed to function using only barcodes, but many key stakeholders have called for the system to also include the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) features. In order to meet the demands of the stakeholders, your project scope expands to include RFID technology. How will you modify your budget and schedule to accommodate this increased scope?
2. You are managing the development of a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system in a hospital that caters to the suburban population of a major city. A much larger hospital that accommodates most of the city’s downtown residents has recently been severely damaged in a storm. As a result, the inner-city hospital is operating at a low level of capacity and diverts much of its patient flow to other hospitals. In order to help alleviate the strain caused by this new influx of patients, your hospital’s executives are requiring you to implement the CPOE system 2 weeks early. Your project team is currently composed of just enough individuals to complete the project on time using the originaltimeline. The planned CPOE system has many non-essential features that usually take two phases to implement. However, these features are currently planned to be incorporated during your single-phase CPOE implementation. How do you adjust the project’s scope and cost to meet the new schedule demands?
3. You are managing the implementation of an electronic medical record system in a small physician’s office. Due to much lower-than-expected profits in the fourth quarter, you have had a substantial cut in the amount of funding available for your project. The scope of the medical record system is more extensive than the bare minimum required for a practice of this size. In addition, the implementation schedule is as condensed as possible to reduce downtime in the office. This condensed schedule requires the use of expensive, high-quality resources. How can you adjust your plan to compensate for the project’s reduced budget?

To prepare:

• By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will assign you to a specific scenario. Review this week’s Learning Resources on controlling the elements of the “triple constraint,” and consider how they apply to the scenario to which you were assigned.
• Determine how you could modify the project in your assigned scenario in terms of scope, time, or cost in order to fulfill the project requirements.
• Consider how you would communicate the modifications you identified to key stakeholders.

By Day 3

Post the number of your assigned scenario and a description of where and how you would adjust the plan in terms of budget, scope, and timeline. Explain how you would communicate modifications to key stakeholders. Provide rationale for your response.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days, using one or more of the following approaches:

• Critique your colleagues’ modifications.
• Suggest an alternative strategy for communicating the modifications to key stakeholders.
• Validate your colleagues’ chosen modifications or communication strategies with your own experience or additional research. Case Project Control: Computerized Physician Order Entry CPOE System Nurs6441.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION;

Discuss principles of monitoring and controlling in the context of an electronic health record implementation

Introduction

In an EHR, monitoring and controlling are processes that happen as part of the overall project plan. They’re used to make sure that things are going as planned and that there are no issues. For example, if you have a new system implemented at your organization, you might want to monitor and control its performance before it goes live with patients so that you can make sure everything is working correctly before releasing it for use by the public.

What is monitoring and controlling?

Monitoring and controlling are two different processes, but they are closely related. The first process monitors the status of a project or system by collecting data from various sources (e.g., patient records) to determine how well it meets its goals. The second process involves making decisions based on the information gathered during monitoring, taking corrective action when necessary and making adjustments as needed in order to improve performance over time.

Why is it important?

It’s important to monitor and control your EHR implementation because it helps you make sure the project is going according to plan. If you have a plan, then it will help you identify any problems early on, before they become big issues.

Monitoring and controlling also helps us understand what is working well and what isn’t.

When it comes to EHR implementation, monitoring and controlling is important because it helps you make sure the project is going according to plan. If you have a plan, then it will help you identify any problems early on, before they become big issues. Monitoring and controlling also helps us understand what is working well and what isn’t.

Example of the process

Monitoring and controlling are important processes in all types of projects, not just electronic health record implementations. They allow you to keep track of the progress of your project and ensure that it stays on track. In an EHR implementation, monitoring and controlling can take the form of:

• Creating reports on data collected by software applications or devices used during the implementation process (e.g., blogs or websites) that can be accessed by multiple individuals within an organization who need information about how well progress is being made

• Communicating with personnel outside your organization who have been asked to provide feedback on aspects such as usability issues, user satisfaction levels with new systems etc., so they can provide advice when needed

Activities that take place during monitoring and controlling

The monitoring and controlling activities that take place in an EHR implementation are similar to those in any other project. However, there are some key differences between implementing an electronic health record system and other types of projects:

• Monitoring is more critical because the health care provider needs to know if the project is on track before he or she can make any changes. In addition, monitoring gives you information about how well your team is working together as a team and whether everyone understands each other’s roles and responsibilities.

• Controlling makes sure that everyone has a clear understanding of what needs to happen next so that everything gets done correctly at all times (even if it means changing things around). This type of control ensures continuity between tasks so that nothing gets missed out on due to time constraints or lack thereof!

Monitoring and controlling are important processes in all types of projects, not just EHR implementations

Monitoring and controlling are important processes in all types of projects, not just EHR implementations. The principles of monitoring and controlling are the same for all types of projects.

Monitoring and controlling EHR implementations are no different than monitoring and controlling any other type of project. The principles of monitoring and controlling are the same for all types of projects.

The principles of monitoring and controlling are the same for all types of projects. The principles of monitoring and controlling are the same for all types of projects. The principles of monitoring and controlling are the same for all types of projects.

Conclusion

In conclusion, monitoring and controlling are important processes in all types of projects, not just EHR implementations. They can be used to ensure that changes made to the system are successful, look at how well the system is performing when compared with other similar systems, or provide information about whether or not specific processes are working properly.