Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Project
Requirement
Contract
Not applicable
Development or
Acquisition Cost
Implementation Cost
Systems' Reliability
Flexibility in
Meeting User's
Requirements
Maintenance and
Ease of Modification
High
High
Purchased
Package
(Turn-key)
Predefined cost
and schedule; ease
of specific
performance
statement;
recourse against
vendor well
defined; should
include warranty
and support
provisions
Moderate
High to moderate
Moderate
Excellent
High to moderate
Moderate to high
Excellent
Moderate to low
High
Moderate
High to low
Moderate to low
Minimal
High if performed
by vendor,
probably extremely
difficult otherwise
Confidence in Final
Product's Operation
(1-4) where 1 = low
2. (assuming
competent staff)
3. (assuming
competent
contractor)
4. (assuming
proven package)
Planning and
Analysis
Requirement
Implementation
Time/complexity
(1-4) where 1 = best
Staffing Needed
3.
Conceptual plan
necessary for
package selection;
general analysis
completed for
adaptation; no
detail design
required
1.
Project
management,
administrative
functions,
systems analysis
Administrative
functions,
minimal project
management
required
RFP preparation,
contracting, project
administration,
contractor reliability,
staff acceptance of
system, long-term
support
Package
capabilities and
adaptability, staff
acceptance of
system,
maintenance,
modifications,
upgrading, longterm support
Limited to support
available from
original developer
and quality of
documentation
1. (assuming no
previous
widespread
distribution)
Conceptual plan
necessary for
package selection;
general analysis
completed for
adaptation; no
detail design
required
4. (generality and
documentation
problems)
Project
management,
administrative
functions,
programming (if
outside support is
unavailable)
System capabilities
and adaptability,
reliability,
implementation
support and cost,
documentation,
long-term support,
maintenance,
upgrading,
modification,
staff
acceptance
Major Potential
Problems
In-house
Development
Project
management,
administrative
functions,
systems analysis,
systems design,
programming
Technical staffing,
personnel
management,
project management,
cost control, control
of system scope
Contract
Development
Transported
System
Not normally
available
Low
Although theoretically possible, this assumption is unlikely to be the case except possibly in a
comparison of in-house development and contract development. The following assumptions about
acquisition alternatives could reflect a more realistic set of circumstances:
The in-house staff is competent, but not as experienced or technically strong overall as the
staff a good contractor could provide, and there will be turnover in the in-house staff.
The contractor has worked in the same or a closely related application area, will not be prone
to miss schedules, and will not fully comprehend all aspects of the hospital's management
requirements.
The packaged system comes close to the actual requirement but will require modification,
and the package has been successfully installed beyond its original development point.
The transported system was originally developed to meet a very specific set of requirements
for another facility and it is not well documented.
Each of the four alternatives offers inherent advantages and disadvantages. However, all the options
share several basic requirements:
Planning for the implementation process must be carefully developed and documented well in
advance.
Policies and procedures to support the systems must be established before implementation is
complete.
Management commitment to and support of the system must be very strong and evident.
In many situations, the best approach may well be a combination of the four options. For example, a
reliable system might be available from another health organization or an independent software
vendor that appears to meet the majority of the organization's needs. In this case, a contractor could
be employed to make modifications to the software and assist in implementation planning and
conversion. In-house staff could be hired to assist in the modification process, conduct staff training,
provide conversion support, and provide long-range system maintenance.