Project Management Plan: Curtin Hospital - Essay Example

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Curtin Hospital currently uses a paper based medical records system. The facility is to expand from 300-bed to 500-bed metropolitan hospital. This expansion will result in an increased number of patients coming to seek health services form the institution. In seeking to enhance the organizational capability to handle the increasing number of patients, the institution needs to have a proper management system for patient medical records. An electronic-based health record management has been proposed to accomplish this. The successful implementation of this project will also enhance the service delivery element within the hospital. This project management plan is to provide information for the implementation of an information management system project, within the confines of a health care institution. The project management approach consists of a project management team with the client’s project manager and the IT specialist’s project manager. The plan clearly outlines the project structure and governance. The plan lists the stakeholders the risks identified. The project is to take 207 days. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 1.INTRODUCTION 4 1.1.Background 4 2.OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT 5 2.1.Objectives 5 2.2.Scope of the project 5 2.2.1.Work breakdown structure 5 2.2.2.Deployment plan 6 2.2.3.Change control management 6 3.1.Milestones 7 3.2.Dependencies 8 3.2.1.External dependencies 8 3.2.2.Internal dependencies 8 4.1.Human resource management 9 4.2.Cost management 10 4.3.Quality management 11 5.STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION 12 6.RISK IDENTIFICATION 12 7.CHANGE MANAGEMENT METHOD 12 References 14 Appendix A: project timeline/ Gantt chart 15 Appendix B: project management plan approval 15 1. INTRODUCTION This project plan presents a breakdown of the functions that will be included in the implementation of an information management system within the healthcare sector, with a specific focus on Curtin Hospital. The project aims at devising an information management system in a hospital in order to augment the conveyance of services through making patient information readily available. With the increased adopted of information technology within different sectors, the implementation of the information management system marks the beginning of the fundamental changes which the hospital shall implement in seeking to improve service delivery. The intended audience for the information management system project in Curtis hospital is the various project stakeholders who include senior management of the hospital, project sponsors and the project management team 1.1. Background Information technology has become essential in the improvement of service delivery within many industries. The implementation of information management systems within the healthcare sector presents healthcare institutions with an opportunity to utilize technological methods to enhance service delivery. The hospital utilizes manual records for the majority of the hospital records. There is need to create a digital database for this information which will begin with the conversion of the paper based records into digital formats. The system will enhance the process of retrieving medical information contained within the hospitals records (Miller & Sim, 2004). Relying on a paper-based medical records system proves to be inconvenient. The hospital is to adopt an electronic-based health records system to store the patient records. This is to improve the quality and the efficiency of the hospital 2. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT 2.1. Objectives The project will be effected with the aim of achieving the following objectives Complete creation of a digital database for all the medical records contained in the current paper based medical records of the hospital. Transformation of the record keeping within the hospital in seeking to enhance easy retrieval of historical information of patients. Integration of information technology in the hospital as a way of enhancing efficiency in the service delivery, in line with the development goals established by the institution. 2.2. Scope of the project The project contains various elements which will be utilized in describing the fundamental components of the information management system being implemented. The scope is limited to the accomplishment of the established purposes of the project defined earlier. 2.2.1. Work breakdown structure The work breaks down structure provides a summary of all the activities which will be conducted in relation to realization of the objectives, by the project management team. The breakdown structure will be essential in estimating and making evaluations of the work progress once the implementation process of the project begins. The work breakdown structure has been summarized in the Gantt chart contained within this report. 2.2.2. Deployment plan The project involves the deployment of different applications to the health partners of the institutions which include insurance companies, and other partner hospitals among other partners. These applications will be rolled out to for the partners to install within their systems as a total integration of the records seeks to be achieved through the installation. The employees of the healthcare partners and those of the hospital will undergo training in order to understand the utilization of the system. This will involve conducting of assessment of the various aspects which might affect the functioning of the system like compatibility with existing systems in the partner organizations (Heiskanen, Newman, & Eklin, 2008). After the completion of these assessments, the installation of hardware and software will commence with data conversion being the last function to be conducted implemented in the project. 2.2.3. Change control management The element of change control is essential in seeking to ensure that the involved stakeholders understand the fundamental elements involved within the project. The organization charged with the responsibility of installing the equipment will conduct training for enlightening the end users regarding the utilization of the system. Assessment of the impacts of the project will be essential in seeking to establish the desired changes which might be essential in enhancing the implementation (Patron, 2008). This will ensure that the implementation occur according to the established plan. 3. PROJECT STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE The baseline for the project will be established within the first three weeks of initiation of the implementation. This baseline shall be an important element upon which the project evaluations and monitoring will be based. The project manager will be held liable with the responsibility of ensuring that the progress and schedule is updated. The provision of the latest information will ensure that other project stakeholders are able to monitor the progress, which will be ensured that it does not go more than two days out of date. Updating of the project progress will be essential in ensuring that variances which occur upon the milestones are addressed and remedies provided as an approach for ensuring timely delivery of the project objectives. 3.1. Milestones This table presents the project milestones which have been identified, accompanied by the estimated timeframe for completion of the milestones. A detailed chart indicating the milestones and other fundamental activities involved in the project is contained in the Gantt chart contained within this report. Milestones Estimated timeframe for completion Project plan presentation and authorization to proceed 20 days after the project concept has been presented to the involved authorities Project implementation This will commence immediately after the approval of the project concept as this will include undertaking all the activities involved in the project. The milestone is estimated to take 126 days. Project monitoring This will be a continuous process which will be undertaken as the project implementation continues. The monitoring will be conducted in consideration of the developed baseline Project completion This will occur after 37 weeks into the project implementation and it will mark the time when the project is expected to end. Project evaluations Immediately after the completion of the project an evaluation will be undertaken in seeking to quantify the success that has been achieved through the project. This evaluation will be conducted in relation to the established project objectives. 3.2. Dependencies There are various dependencies of the project that will determine the activities being undertaken at different stages of the project. These are factors which must be considered during the project progress before commencing each stage. The dependencies must be achieved before the project can commence to further stages. The project dependencies are both internal and external factors. 3.2.1. External dependencies Approval – the project must be approved and authorized by the relevant authorities before commencement Funding – the funding for the project is being undertaken from different sources and this is a fundamental element which will be utilized to enhance the project performance 3.2.2. Internal dependencies Evaluations and monitoring – these are essential aspects that must be ensured against the baseline in order to estimate the process of implementing the project. Management – various management aspects will be essential in ensuring the continuity of the project. 4. PROJECT RESOURCES The implementation of the project shall involve the consumption of various resources ranging from human capital to financial resources. The resources that are required to oversee the completion of the project include financial resources and human resources. The financial resource is basically the capital input that the project needs for its implementation. The financial resource will also cover the operating expense, the hardware and software maintenance, cost for training, cost for disaster recovery, the cost for redesign and cost for additional staff salary. The human resource will include an IT staff and the human labor to set up the hardware and software system. 4.1. Human resource management The human resource management focuses on assessment of the various resources related to human capital which the project requires to complete the various activities involved in the project. This management activity involves the processes which are utilized in organization and management of the project management team. The project team will be charged with the main responsibilities involved in ensuring successful completion of the project. The management process will be essential in enabling the stakeholders to understand the responsibilities of all the team members and the tracking of performance for various team members (Turner, Huemann, & Keegan, 2008). This will involve the provision of feedbacks and resolution of arising issues in seeking to enhance the overall project performance. The human resource management aspect within the project will focus of four fundamental activities aimed at ensuring effective management of the project management team. The human resource planning will be the first core activity that the human resource management will focus on. This will involve the determination of the project roles and responsibilities which will culminate in the estimation of the staffing requirements of the project. The second human resource core activity will be the acquisition of a project team. This teams will be charged with the responsibilities of ensuring successful implementation of the project. The element remains the core aspect of the human resource function as it involves obtaining the necessary human resource for completing the project. Development of the project team with be the third core activity in the human resource management component of the project requirements. The major purpose for undertaking this process will be improving the competences and skills of the team members. Enhancing the team member skills is essential in seeking to enhance the performance throughout the project lifecycle. Lastly, the human resource management activity will be the management of the project team. This will involve monitoring of the member performance and coordinating changes which might enhance the project performance outputs (Beardwell & Claydon, 2007). This last step seeks to coordinate all the functions of the team and provides an insight into understanding lessons which can be learnt through the project lifecycle. 4.2. Cost management The project cost management function will involve the assessment of the various resources which are required for the accomplishment of the venture and estimating their costs of these resources. The estimation of the project costs will first involve the identification of the resources required for completion of the project. Much of the project costs commonly comes from three fundamental requirements; labor, materials and equipment. Consideration of the quantities of these resources becomes essential in estimating the costs which might be required in completing the project. The resource requirements which will be established from the assessment will be the basis upon which the costs of the project will be estimated. The cost management aspects will involve cost estimation based on the quantities of other requirements in seeking to factor the return on Investment. The cost management factor remains an aspect which considers all the facts regarding the entire project. The estimations of the costs involved in completing the project are a fundamental aspect in aiding the management team to develop a project budget. The project budget can be termed as the cost management plan for the entire project. The budgeting process will involve the allocation of financial resources to specific packages of the project. The elements of estimation and budgeting are major attributes of cost management in projects. A combination of these elements results in the establishment of time-phased cost estimation, essential in making cash flow predictions. The budget will be a critical document which will be the baseline upon which projects costs will be controlled (Taylor, 2007). 4.3. Quality management Successful implementation and completion of the project must involve the assessment and evaluation of the progress made. This is commonly undertaken with the effort of ensuring the project requirements are met and meet the standards required by the users and any standards established by regulating authorities. For the system being implemented, quality management will involve enhancing the control of the screen layouts in seeking to ensure that the screens match the required standards. Quality measures might involve the identification of certain variables and critical requirements (Yang, 2006). The aspect of quality assurance will be ensured through different activities which might include monitoring, inspections, audits and formal testing of the system in order to detect defects for them to be fixed. A traceability matric will be developed for the project in seeking to establish the satisfaction of critical requirements by the project (Cleland-Huang, Gotel, & Zisman, 2012). 5. STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION The end of the project will be the focus of the various stakeholders of the project. Identification of the stakeholders remains essential in seeking to comprehend the prerequisites and anticipations of the participants from completion of the project. The potential stakeholders for the implementation of an electronic-based health record system for Curtin Hospital include individuals running the project and those benefitting from the project. The stakeholders include the director of Curtin Hospital, the board, the Chief Medical Officer at Curtin Hospital, the medical staff and non-medical staff at Curtin Hospital, the Patients visiting Curtin Hospital, Medical Unions and Associations, National Unions concerned with Curtin Hospital and International Donors 6. RISK IDENTIFICATION The risk identification factor is an essential element aimed at defining the elements that might present adverse effect upon the implementation process. The risk identification forms an essential part of the risk management strategy (Rafftery, 2003). The process will be conducted before the kickoff to identify the obvious risk like failures, which might be associated to the project. Other risks will be identified during the life cycle of the project. While the project manager has been charged with the responsibility of risk management, the identification process can be undertaken by any individuals associated to the project. This will be essential in ensuring comprehensive assessment of the potential risks. 7. CHANGE MANAGEMENT METHOD Change management involves the conducting of various activities aimed at ensuring a comfortable transformation from the current system to the new system. The approach of the project is based on project management team that consists of a manager from Curtin Hospital and a project manager from the IT solution provider. The client’s project manager ensures coordination of overall project management. The IT solution provider’s project manager chips in on IT expertise and ensures planning (Silow-Carroll, Edwards, & Rodin, 2012). These individuals will be involved in providing the end users with information which will be essential in averting the element of resistance to change. References Beardwell, J., & Claydon, T. (2007). Human resource management: a contemporary approach. New York: Pearson Education Ltd. Cleland-Huang, J., Gotel, O., & Zisman, A. (2012). Software and systems traceability. Berlin: Springer Publishers. Heiskanen, A., Newman, M., & Eklin, M. (2008). Control, trust, power, and the dynamics of information system outsourcing relationships: a process study of contractual software development. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 17(4), 268–286. Miller, R. H., & Sim, I. (2004). Physicians’ use of electronic medical records: barriers and solutions. Health Affairs, 23(2), 116–126. Patron, R. A. (2008). Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation. London: Sage. Rafftery, J. (2003). Risk Analysis in Project Management. New York: Taylor & Francis. Silow-Carroll, S., Edwards, J. N., & Rodin, D. A. (2012). Using electronic health records to improve quality and efficiency: the experiences of leading hospitals. The Commonwealth Fund, 17, 1–38. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Issue Brief/2012/Jul/1608_SilowCarroll_using_EHRs_improve_quality.pdf Taylor, J. (2007). Project Scheduling and Cost Control: Planning, Monitoring and Controlling the Baseline. London: J. Ross Publishing. Turner, J. R., Huemann, M., & Keegan, A. E. (2008). Human Resource Management in the Project-Oriented Organization (p. 139). New York: Project Management Institute. Yang, C.-C. (2006). Establishment of a quality-management system for service industries. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 17(9), 1129–1154. APPENDICES Appendix A: project timeline/ Gantt chart Appendix B: project management plan approval The undersigned individuals acknowledge they have been actively involved in reviewing Curtin Hospital information management system project Management Plan and agree with the approach presented herein. Changes to this Project Management Plan during the implementation process will be coordinated with and approved designated individuals with capacity to act on behalf of the involved stakeholders Signature: Date: Print Name: Title: Role: Signature: Date: Print Name: Title: Role: Signature: Date: Print Name: Title: Role: Read More