Method to Be Used by the National IT Programme in the NHS for Proper Project Execution - Case Study Example

Project Report Customer Name Grade Course Tutor’s Name Introduction Projects use different methodologies, process and concepts so that projects can be successfully delivered. Different projects based on the different stages like project initiation, execution and closure uses different methodology so that project managers can carry out the different roles successfully. Proper use of project management methodology helps the projects to be executed as per the determined guidelines, bring efficiency in managing the different resources and ensures that the project is executed within the stated budget. This helps to multiply the overall effectiveness and ensures proper projects delivery at the appropriate time. The report focuses on determining the appropriate method which can be used by National IT Programme in the NHS so that the project execution is proper and delivered as per the required guidelines. Project Initiation Different methods and process has been identified based on which projects can be carried out so selecting the most appropriate method and using it for project initiation is imperative. The project was started by the Department of Health as is the main stakeholder for the project. The programme was started in the year 2007-08 where a budget of £1.4 billion was made and constituted of 1,100 employees and consultants. The main person responsible for carrying out the programme is the chief executive of NHS and has been carrying out the role since 2007 (Meredith & Mantel, 2003). The local members of NHS were responsible for carrying out the different role and responsibility so that the implementation of the process can be carried out. The different chief executives who were within the purview of Strategic Health Authorities were provided with the responsibility of carrying out the different activities so that the implementation of the process can be made and the different benefits which the project is expected to provide can be reaped. The NHS reports to the National Assembly and it is their role and responsibility to provide all information to them. The program also had three local service providers, whose responsibility was to ensure that the project reached every corner of the country and was carried out in the best possible manner. The program looked at having a process where the development and implementation process was looked after. The program aimed at having an electronic care record so that patients’ information can be stored and the NHS service care record looks at determining the manner in which services were provided to the patients (National Audit Office, 2008). Scope & Aim The programme which was implemented was developed and prepared over a complex situation so the execution of the project was an important aspect for its success. The process requires substantial changes for the execution as the constant changes in organizational and cultural aspect required impetus (National Audit Office, 2008). The main aspect was to analyze the manner in which patient data has to undergo changes and the manner in which NHS would use the different information. The programme was started in the year 2002. The main aim of the program was to transform the manner in which the National Health Service in England worked. The program looked at improving the patient care facilities and bringing about a change in the manner in which different patient care facilities were provided. The program was developed in such a manner that it looked at using technology to improve the manner in which different activities were carried out. The program looked at developing new NHS policy and adding new programmes so that the overall aspect which aimed towards improvement of the patient care facilities was looked at. The programme resulted in bringing a change in the manner NHS works and made major changes and ramifications in operational and policy areas. This helped to reduce cost and at the same time multiplied operational efficiency. For example in 2004, the improvement plan highlighted that no patient would have to wait for more than 18 weeks between GP referrals and hospital care provisions (National Audit Office, 2008). This made the NHS to make adjustments so that the program and its requirements can be carried out within the stipulated time. The aspect thereby requires proper knowledge and information regarding the manner in which the different provisions are measured. The process requires periodic restructuring and making changes in the manner organization works requiring the adoption of new organizational structure and developing boundaries so that the different needs and requirements are properly met. The entire process requires different deployment centres work in tandem with one another which requires evolving the NHS system to be able to take better decisions. This will provide accurate information about the patient as the patient care system will have all data and information pertaining to the patients. This will help to reduce and control risk to a certain extent as different adverse situation which otherwise would be present will be reduced. The process will make the employees take better decisions and fully informed decisions will be taken due to it. The different IT programmes will support the entire process and will help to develop a model through which better decisions can be taken. The programme also had different chief executives of different trust whose objective was to take different decisions associated with the working of NHS and develops a core plan through which better coordination would be achieved among the different functionaries thereby ensuring better results. The programme looked at ensuring that the information which was provided was accurate and transmitted efficiently to the different departments and pharmacies so that effective decisions can be taken. This had an effective impact on the positive health outcome and ensured better health results. Timely information helped to provide different warnings with regard to improving the health outcome and thereby ensured that the process of providing different treatments improved. The process will have a positive impact regarding the manner in which different knowledge in the field of health informatics is provided and would result in a positive impact on the health situation. The programme thereby looks to support the management by creating different avenues and aspect through which the overall relevance of NHS and health informatics will be improved. The process will thereby help to save time which was otherwise spend on gathering information about patients and will have a positive impact on project planning and delivering the results. Project Planning The programme which was developed and carried out was done in extreme complex situation as the environment was constantly changing and the different provisions and requirements from the policy helped NHS to carry out the different operational plan and activities (Kioppenborg & Opfer, 2002). The Stakeholders The different stakeholders the programme had are Chief Executives Patients Local Service Provider Health Care Providers Parliament The programme looked to be carried out in the following areas along with the population it will serve London – 7.2 million people North Midlands & East – 29.9 million people South – 13 million people Programme Elements The different elements which the programme seems to have are Care Record N3 network Interface to store patients data and at the same time ensuring safety of the records Electronic book Lorenzo Digital X ray and other image NHS e mail system Electronic Prescription System Health Space Quality Management System GP transfer The different elements identified will help to carry out the project in accordance with the project task, benefits, resources and other aspect so that successful delivery of the process and system becomes possible. Programme Cost The programme cost which is estimated to be made for the concerned NHS department and other aspect are as Category Cost in million Core Contract 6805.5 Products which the programme requires 665.8 Other Cost 1599 Local Cost 3585.9 Total Cost 12,656.2 It is further identified that during the programme the total cost remains the same and doesn’t changes except in some areas where the cost rose due to changes in the cost associated with functionality. This makes it difficult to determine the actual cost associated with the programme (Rad, 2001). Further, the cost of the programme is lower than it was estimated highlighting efficiency in controlling cost (Ward, 2007). This can also be interpreted as one where the programme was being deployed slowly and the entire working mechanism is not being adopted in the working scenario. Programme Schedule Progress The programme started with the aim and objective that by the end of year 2010 all system for patients will be gradually changed and converted into an electronic care form (National Audit Office, 2008). A timetable to accomplish the same was developed but had to be slowly changed and moulded so that the entire result could be achieved within the stated time (Lester, 2006). This creates doubt regarding the manner in which the work will be carried out and whether the programme will be completed and achieved within the stated time interval. The project report highlights that the project took more time than the allocated time and the project exceeded the allocated time by four years. This shows that the programme is likely to be completed by 2015. The process will also ensure that all the NHS have deployed their required care record system and will be able to record the different information about the patients through an electronic form. Expected Benefits The completion of the project will provide different benefits to the stakeholders and will help in proper accomplishment of the work (Thayer & Yourdon, 2000). The different benefits which are expected to be yielded from the programme will not be through a centralized process but will be spread over different years and will be realized over a period of time when the different activities which are carried out by NHS provides the reward. The same can be replicated by other locations and will help to increase the overall value of the project and provide long term benefits. The process will thereby enable to ensure that the stakeholders will play a crucial process to reap the benefits and will be able to bring about a change in the manner the centralized process carries out different activities (Fleming, 2005). The overall benefits will thereby be reaped over a longer period of time. Risks The implementation of programme has several risk associated with it which the process will create and needs to be analyzed. The different risks and areas which the programme could lead towards are as Contracting: The programme will require that all NHS trust use the programme at some point of time but Foundation Trust won’t use the program which could thereby lead towards financial implications and have an impact on the programme which is being carried out by other trusts Deployment Plan: the process could lead towards different risk as having live information could have an impact on patient care and operations thereby increasing the level of risk for the programme The different benefits which the programme is bound to provide is not a centralized process and could thereby have an impact on the programme Inclusion of different organizations could increase the degree of complexity as more and more players would make the program to be difficult making it difficult to be executed With drawl of certain players from the programme creates doubt regarding the programme and could also lead towards multiplying the difficulty for other players. Project Execution Different indicators have been identified which will help to understand the manner in which the project was carried out. The programme stated in the year 2002 and was expected to be completed by 2010. As of now still some part of the project is left to be completed and is expected to be completed by 2015. Some of the different elements and aspects of care record services is expected to be completed by 2015 which will thereby make the project to be completed by 2015. Further increase in functionality and integration of the different changes which the programme will be required will have an impact on the manner in which the different changes are being made. This has increased the degree of complexity and has made it difficult for the program to be completed by the allocated time and is expected to be completed in the near future. The programme looks to work on different dimensions and will include areas like Care Record, N3 network, Interface to store patients data and at the same time ensuring safety of the records, Electronic book, Lorenzo, Digital X ray and other image, NHS e mail system, Electronic Prescription System, Health Space, Quality Management System and GP transfer (Phillips, 2003). The Gantt Chart looks at highlighting the manner in which the project is expected to be completed within the schedule, completion and the day which are remaining which will help to accomplish the work. The details are as The programme thereby brings forward the following issues which needs to be addressed The manner in which the development is taking place the benefits are not expected to be provided within the contracting period. The overall progress was slow and thereby made it difficult for the progress to be executed properly. Further, the different stakeholders require to work on the different functionalities which made it difficult to deliver the result at the desired level. The department didn’t maintain the details regarding the different expenditure which was made on different areas thereby making it difficult to determine the expenditure which was made. It is thereby necessary to note the different expenses which was made The programme didn’t look towards weighing the different benefits with the cost associated with it thereby creating doubts regarding the success of the project. Further, the different non-financial benefits were not accounted creating doubts regarding the manner in which the project was executed Closure of the Project The program was not able to accomplish the different needs and requirements thereby making it difficult to determine whether the process provided completed details regarding the implementation of the project. Some of the areas of concern are The program doesn’t look at identifying the manner in which IT expenses and different aspect of the program was looked at. The leadership has an impact on program as it was not significantly completed within the stated time Local ownership was another concern for the department as the implementation progress and aspect didn’t provide the different benefits which were expected thereby making it difficult to have clear roles for people The suppliers had to face different issues as with drawl of different players have an impact on the other suppliers which were present thereby creating doubts on the suppliers Scheduling and cost management was another area which made it difficult for the implementation of the programme The programme implementation process also impacted the manner in which different suppliers have an impact on the overall manner in which different aspect of the programme was looked at References Fleming, Q 2005, Earned Value Project Management, 3rd edn, Project Management Institute, Pennsylvania. Hartman, F & Ashrafi, R 2002, 'Project Management in the Information Systems and Information Technologies Industries', Project Management Journal, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 5-15. Hoffer, J, George, J & Valacich, J 2002, Modern Systems Analysis & Design, Pearson Education, Inc, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Ireland, L 2006, Project Management, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York. Kioppenborg, T & Opfer, W 2002, 'The Current State of Project Management Research: Trends, Interpretations, and Predictions', Project Management Journal, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 5-18. Lester, A 2006, Project Management, Planning and Control, 5th edn, Elsevier Science & Technology Books, Loughborough. Maserang, S 2002, Project Management: Tools & Techniques, viewed 5 December 2015, http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/analysis/488_f02_papers/ProjMgmt.html McNamara, B. (2013). The Basic Project Management Concepts. Retrieved from http://www.fullsailpartners.com/FSPblog/bid/297402/The-Basic-Project-Management-Concepts Meredith, J & Mantel, S 2003, Project Management: A Managerial Approach, 5th edn, Wiley & Sons, New York. National Audit Office 2008, The National Programme for IT in the NHS: Progress since 2006, The Stationery Office, London. Nokes, S 2007, The Definitive Guide to Project Management, Financial Times/Prentice Hall, London. Pandey, P 2013, Sick of Microsoft Project? Manage Your Project in Excel, viewed 5 December 2015, http://flevy.com/blog/sick-of-microsoft-project-manage-your-project-in-excel/ Phillips, J 2003, PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York. Project Management Institute 2008, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK Guide,4th edn, Project Management Institute Inc, Pennsylvania. Rad, P 2001, Project Estimating and Cost Management, Management Concepts, Vienna. Thayer, R & Yourdon, E 2000, Software Engineering Project Management, 2nd edn, Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Press, New York. Ward, G 2007, Project Manager’s Guide to Purchasing, Gower, Aldershot Read More