It is important to note that organizational support is instrumental in moving any projects forward and sustaining it. Once a project has been defined the next step is to gather the stakeholders. The stakeholders can be individuals, groups or anyone that might have a vested interest, and or knowledge of the project at hand. Having a clear understanding of the mission and vision of the organization and how the projects support these organization structures will facilitate the importance of the implementation activities. This chapter describes key elements that comprise the implementation process of a healthcare information technology (IT) project. It identifies the activation activities and the key role of the nursing informatics specialist (NIS) in determining the go-live readiness of users and/or departments. The chapter differentiates the methods of application deployment for new implementation in comparison to system upgrades.

This chapter discusses the purpose and process of system configuration and its relationship with systems design. It identifies project activities during clinical and technical configurations that require coordination and oversight by the project manager. The chapter describes key clinical workflows and patient safety features that can either impact or enhance the build of the proposed information technology (IT) solutions. Electronic health record (EHR) application configurations should be performed by team of individuals who have technical and a clinical background who can understand the healthcare delivery workflow, operations and business needs. Maintaining the optimal performance and integrity of the EHR are critical in facilitating these day-to-day operations and overall business of the entire healthcare organization. These healthcare technology implementations require expertise, tailored and guided approaches, and continuous configuration processes to ensure a successful healthcare IT project completion.

This chapter describes the testing process and its importance in the verification and validation process of the proposed information technology (IT) solution. It analyzes the methods of testing (unit, functional, integrated, end-to-end, user acceptance, regression, performance, system) and its relevance in preventing technology related errors. The chapter discusses the importance of the end-users’ role into the development and testing of an application. Testing, test script creation and the testing cycle are truly a collaborative effort. The coordination of activities during the testing phase as part of the construction phase is crucial since any major issues uncovered during testing will have an impact to the go-live date and overall timeline of the project. Testing drives the succeeding activities in project implementation. Key activities such as training content and the actual training plan rely on the success of testing.

Systems design is an exciting stage as part of the project execution phase. Successful systems design is crucial for end-user adoption, decreased workarounds, and improved workflow efficiency. This chapter describes the role of the nursing informatics specialist (NIS) as project manager in conducting workflow design, reviews techniques on how to conduct a comprehensive analysis of current and future state workflows, and ensures a complete workflow documentation. The design process includes the understanding in greater detail the initial scope requirements conducted from the panning phase. System, process, and data requirements should be reviewed with the clinical and technical teams to fully facilitate the final requirements and official sign off. In this aspect, the chapter focuses more on translating the workflow and process maps into technical and functional system specifications in understanding the impacts of systems design (data interface, user interface, and technical build).

This chapter describes and differentiates the phases and processes between systems development life cycle and project management. It describes key activities in finalizing the clinical business, and technical requirements as part of the systems analysis process. The chapter analyzes techniques in conducting current and future state workflows. Systems analysis is one of the most crucial phases of the project. It is during this phase, that the nursing informatics specialist works in conjunction with the technical team in understanding the current state, discovering opportunities or issues, identifying the objectives and requirements that must be met in the implementation or optimization of the new technology project. The problem analysis phase provides the analyst with a comprehensive understanding of the problems, opportunities, and/or directive that prompted the project. The chapter elaborates the various phases of software development and how the NIS can successfully keep the project on track during this critical phase.

This chapter describes key activities involved during the initiation process of a project, analyzes the project manager’s scope of responsibility in managing various stakeholders and their role and impact in the project’s overall success. It examines the role of the nursing informatics specialist in creating a project proposal for a clinical program. Key activities during the initiation process include having a clear project charter that incorporates the description, mission and vision of the program being implemented. The essential analysis of the impact of the project should correlate with the organization’s mission and vision. Project-related documentation such as policy and procedure, current work guidelines, and other historical information can be requested during the interview process with the stakeholders. Having a clear scope, goals, and objectives will help clinical leadership together with the nursing informatics specialist to be successful in incorporating the clinical and business needs with technology.

Project planning is one of the critical processes in project management. This chapter focuses on the development phase and the planning process. It illustrates the relationship between the development phase and the project planning process. Scope management involves the development of a scope statement and identifying the authority that approves the work and/or activities. In providing a scope statement, the nursing informatics specialist or project manager will be able to obtain approval and manage the stakeholders’ understanding and expectation of the project. After the scope statement completion, the next step is to identify the tasks in accomplishing the objectives. The project manager may also need to do an environmental survey to determine internal and external risk factors that will prevent the practice in achieving this objective. This assessment is part of risk management and the chapter highlights the key components and describes risk from a project management perspective.

Healthcare organizations are determined to implement, information technology (IT) projects in supporting its strategic initiatives, improving clinical and business efficiencies, and delivering safe, effective patient care. Through these projects, management can ensure the interoperability of health records in meeting regulatory compliance and stay competitive in the healthcare market. Healthcare leaders in the 21st century must possess project management skills and be competent in their fields of specialty or business. Although the nursing informatics specialist (NIS) education and training provides a basic foundation in using the nursing process as part of the standard of nursing practice, it is important to acquire project manager training and skills in managing complex healthcare IT projects successfully. Having the informatics knowledge and clinical background gives the NIS an advantage in assuming an overarching role in managing healthcare IT projects. This makes the NIS a valuable asset to the organization.

The nursing informatics specialist must have a basic understanding of project management processes in addition to his or her existing clinical management and leadership skills to be a successful project manager, especially, implementing any innovative processes or technology solutions. This chapter focuses on understanding the standards of practice for nursing informatics, the expected competencies in meeting the standards, and their relationship to project management. It discusses the standards of practice as described by American Nurses Association’s Scope and Standards of Practice for Nursing Informatics utilizing examples from clinical and healthcare information technology projects. The chapter analyzes the standards of nursing informatics competencies in relation to project management and compares the knowledge areas of project management with the nursing informatics competency and its integration with the project life cycle. It explores examples of clinical and healthcare information technology projects that impact the development of nurse informatics and project management competencies.