Introduction to Project Management

1. Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b This material (Comp19_Unit11b) was developed by Johns Hopkins University, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under Award Number IU24OC000013.

2. Project Closure and TransitionLearning Objectives—Lecture b • Bring project activities to a close. • Conclude the customer acceptance process. • Document and archive lessons learned. • Update and close out project documents. • Manage transition to operations. Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

3. Products for Transitioning • Complete Health IT Systems • Integrated hardware-software systems • May be based upon procured products • Application or Service • Executes on existing computing infrastructure • Process • New operational workflow enabled by IT Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

4. Activities to Support Transition to Operations Training of staff • May involve several departments and interfacing organizations • Newly designed workflow and operational procedures • Documentation • New maintenance procedures • “Help,” facility for staff Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

5. Transition Approaches: Cut Over • What is it? • Switch to new system in one step • Advantages: • Simple —gets new system in operation • Once the new system is in place, staff is motivated to work out the, “bugs” • Disadvantages: • Can be a disaster if not well planned and executed Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

6. Transition Approaches:Parallel Operation • What is it? • Run the new health IT system in parallel with the current system • Advantages: • You still have the current system in place • You can decide when to switch to new system • Disadvantages: • Can be expensive—and challenging for staff—to have both systems in operation Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

7. Transition Approaches:Phased Strategy • What is it? • Switch to new system in phases • Advantages: • Organization can ease into use of new system • Can stretch out phases over time to match flow of funding • Disadvantages: • Requires breaking system into phases • Delays implementation of full system Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

8. ePrescribing Project: What Transition Strategy to Use? • Project Summary: Providers of an outpatient clinical facility are requesting an upgrade to the current ordering system to include the latest feature of ePrescribing. All providers will use this system for writing patient prescriptions and sending the prescriptions to any of 50,000 regional pharmacies depending on patient requests. • Features of the system: Features should include, but are not limited to, ability to, “write,” prescriptions based on the local formulary of medications, print or transfer prescription either by fax or electronic ally to the pharmacy of patient’s choice, ability to store a medication history for each patient, up-coming needs for prescriptions, workflow allowing ancillary personnel to take a phone request for a new / refill medication for the prescriber to approve before being sent to the pharmacy, upload of 3rd party information about regional pharmacies, and real time insurance verification for allowed medications based on insurance coverage. Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

9. ePrescribing Project: Possible Transition Strategies • Cut Over—high risk with such a multi-function system that involves external stakeholders (physicians, pharmacies, and insurers) and patient care • Parallel—possible, but expensive • Phased—provides flexibility to stage the implementation, adding features over time Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

10. ePrescribing Project:Phasing Options If a phased approach is used, what are the alternatives for grouping system features into phases? • Back-end capabilities? e.g., storing medical histories for patients or providing real-time insurance verification for allowed medications based on insurance coverage • Primary system capabilities? e.g., capability to, “write,” prescriptions based on the local formulary of medications Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

11. Techniques for Smooth System Transitions: Simulation • Develop a simulation model: • Simulate the operation of the new system in the computing and workflow environment of the organization • Experiment with the simulation model to gain confidence in the new system • Simulation runs will help ensure that the new system will meet performance and responsiveness requirements of users Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

12. Techniques for Smooth System Transitions: Test Environment • Create a test environment of computing hardware and software • Implement the new systems, processes, and services in the test environment • Bring in staff members to try out the new system in the test environment • Obtain their feedback on how the new system is working and what changes should be made Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

13. Techniques For Smooth System Transitions: Gap Analysis • Prepare an “as-is” model of how your current system operates • Use diagrams and supporting text to describe the workflow and use of IT systems • Prepare a, “to-be,” model • How will work be done with the new system? • Conduct a gap analysis • Compare the, “as-is,” and, “to-be,” models so you can plan to, “bridge the gap” Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

14. Project Closure and TransitionSummary—Lecture b This lecture stressed the importance of effective project close-out and transition: • What is needed to bring project activities to a successful close. • How to conclude procurements and the all-important customer acceptance process. • The value of documenting the project and archiving lessons learned. • Techniques such as phased strategies for transitioning to your new health IT system. Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b

15. Project Closure and TransitionReferences—Lecture b References Fleming Q. (2003).Project procurement management: contracting, subcontracting, teaming. 1st ed. FMC Press. Health Information and Management System Society. Chicago, IL. 2010. Available from: http://www.himss.org Houston S, Bove LA. (2010). Project management for healthcare informatics. Springer Science + Business Media, LLC; Kerzner H. (2009).Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. 10th ed. New York: Wiley. Liebowitz J. (1999) Key ingredients to the success of an organization’s knowledge management strategy. Knowledge and process management. (6:1), pp. 37-40. Project Management Institute, A guide to the project management body of knowledge. 4th ed. (2008) Newtown Square, PA: PMI. Schwalbe K. (2009). Information technology project management (with Microsoft Project 2007 CD-ROM). 6th ed. Stackpole C. (2010). A User’s Manual to the PMBOK Guide. Wiley. Stackpole C. (2009). A project manager’s book of forms: a companion to the PMBOK guide. New York: Wiley. Wysocki, RK . (2009). Effective project management: traditional, agile, extreme. 5th Edition. New York: Wiley. Introduction to Project Management Project Closure and Transition Lecture b