Why an “Assumptions Document” is Important

One of the project efficiency secrets utilized at Atlanticon is the occasional use of Assumption Documents.  These simple documents can give you a high payoff for relatively little effort.  We developed the concept many years ago, thinking that it was a tool that only we would use in our consulting profession.  However, the simplicity and common sense of these documents…

Orderset Strategy for Meaningful Use – Preparing for CPOE

Anyone who tells you that implementing CPOE is a walk in the park, doesn’t get out much.  In fact, implementing CPOE is one of the most challenging components of a hospital information system.  We have helped many hospitals implement CPOE and here are the challenges we’ve seen repeatedly:

• Physicians find it easier to write or verbalize orders – reluctant

…

Creating a Change Management Process in a few Simple Steps

Whether you employ a “best of breed” philosophy or stick to a single, integrated system, coordinating and communicating the changes that will occur in your production environment are a critical part of running a good IT department.  Manage your changes well, and you have smooth sailing.  Fail to manage them, and you can have some pretty rough seas.  Shockingly, the…

Missing Your Date – Sealing Your Fate

If you decide to drive 3,000 miles in six days, you would need to cover 500 miles a day.  But if you only cover 300 miles on Monday, 200 on Tuesday, and 200 more on Wednesday, what are your chances of hitting your destination on Saturday at your current pace? 

When faced with IT projects, you plot your progress in…

Conference Room Pilot – Your Application Functions, but is it Functional?

I will admit that I didn’t make up the name “Conference Room Pilot.”  But I sure love the concept.  For those of you who don’t know about a CRP, it is a concept where you simulate how the system will function.  It’s a very useful phase of testing that most hospitals never take advantage of.  Why?  They don’t have the…

Measuring Testing Success

Over the years, we have seen some very successful testing performed on large IT projects, and we’ve seen testing  that wasn’t very successful.  Testing is absolutely necessary, and successful testing is absolutely critical.  What are some of the more challenging problems we’ve seen with testing?

• Testing is executed, but unsure if problems are fixed
• Hard to measure whether testing

…

Consultants for General IT Duties

For all CIOs, Directors, and Managers who have more projects than you have resources, this tip is for you.

As a consulting firm, we strive to look for ways where we can be most effective.  We’re constantly looking at the issues that IT leadership faces, trying to determine how we can make a positive difference.  The solution was simpler than…

Project Work Area – Sitting Together, Succeeding Together

How many times have you been involved in a large project where you feel as if your teams are working in silos?  Well intentioned project members work diligently on their assignments – teams for pharmacy, orders, registration, and clinical documentation, all work hard to design and build – yet they seem to lack the confidence that they are building an…

Overcoming the Vendor Honeymoon – Taking Control of Your Project

When a hospital embarks on a large project to install one of the common HIS systems, the demo is still fresh in everyone’s mind.  A visual image of a smoothly run project with a vendor dedicated solely to you is the expectation that most teams have.  There is an air of excitement as you await the kickoff, knowing that you…

Tracking Issues in Your Project

Tracking project issues properly and diligently is one of the most important things you can do for your project. One of the first things we do when joining a project is to assess the manner in which issues are being tracked, and the tool that is being used to track them. We should define an issue first. An issue should…