The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation
A successful Systems Development and Implementation (SDLC) process is dependent on the partnerships between various stakeholders in the project. The implementation of the new nursing documentation system will require input from the end-users to meet the objectives of its implementation. The lack of partnerships may affect the ability of the IT project implemented to achieve its desired goals and prolong the SDLC, which will impact overall project costs (Jeong et al., 2022). As a representative of the end-users, a nurse leader will be a part of the team developing and implementing the new nursing documentation system. The nurse leader will work directly with the new system’s development and implementation team as an end-user at a presentative capacity, as well as the project’s client, systems design negotiator, and funder as the authority and decision-maker on system features. Therefore, the nurse leader will play a performing role in the SDLC planning, project data collection and analysis, system design, and implementation stages.
Nurse Leader’s Role Description at SDLC Process Stages
Project Planning
The planning level of software systems development presents a number of challenges to the development team as they require external guidance to best execute the process to fit client needs (Lalband & Kavitha, 2019). As a representative of the end-users of the new nursing documentation system at the planning level, the nurse leader will be required to:
Explain to the design team the needs of the nurses with regard to documents,
Define the shortcomings of the current documentation system,
Suggest what features and capabilities the new systems need to have to improve the efficiency of the documentation process. Kim et al. (2020), in a study focused on the development of user-centered smart home solutions, noted that systems development needed to consider contextual user needs.
Liaise with the project implementation team on planning the project and what more input is needed from the nurse leader.
Engage in budgeting for the project.
Project Analysis
At this level, the nurse leader will be required to:
Help the development and implementation team assess user intentions and system expectations,
Assist the implementation team in analyzing risks related to the plan documentation system from all perspectives; the system, costs, and users.
Analyze and identify the nurses’ attitudes toward the adoption of a new documentation system,
Present the attitudes and requirements of the users to the implementation team regarding the features, usability, and efficiency of the new system.
System Design
The system design stage involves the documentation of the planning and analysis stages and deciding on the system architecture (Lalband & Kavitha, 2019). The development and implementation team defines the system’s interface, components, and the specific application of the system within the healthcare settings. In addition, they also decide and provide a technical plan for the implementation of the system. At this stage, the nurse leader will be required to explain to the team about:
The current nursing team’s knowledge of document systems,
The nursing team’s communication structure,
The flow of information across the nursing department and other departments,
The nurses’ expectations of the new documentation system.
Any other special needs and ideas that the nurses may have regarding the new documentation system.
System Implementation
The system implementation stage involves the actual building of the system, including the components to meet the requirements and expectations documented at the system design level (Lalband & Kavitha, 2019). The nurse leader, as a member of the implementation team, will be required to:
Play an active role throughout the implementation period,
Get involved in testing the performance, quality, security, usability, and reliability of the new documentation system. The inclusion of users in the evaluation of electronic tools promotes wider acceptance and adoption and increases the satisfaction of the users with the final technology (Walden et al., 2020).
Understand how the implementation team plans to incorporate the new documentation system with the current system and with the nurses’ work settings,
Inform other nurses how the new documentation system will be phased in and how the old system will be phased out,
Educate the nurses on how data and information will be transferred from the old system to the new system,
Support the implementation team in educating the nurses on the use of the new documentation system,
Post-implementation Support
The nurse leader at this level will be required to:
Learn and understand, with the support of the IT team, how to identify bugs and scan the system for performance issues,
Identify problems with the new system either personally or based on reports from other nurses,
Identify missing features that could further improve the new documentation system,
Provide feedback on usage, user experiences, and ease of use of the system, among other system-related feedback. A study by Sturm and Tscholl (2019) focused on the role of digital user feedback in the technology development process. It concluded that user feedback and traditional user tests helped to increase participation and helped develop more user-centered systems. For that reason, the nurse leaders will continuously collect data from other users and provide it to the systems’ support specialists to help them improve the usability and efficiency of the system.
Continuously update other users on the modifications and updates that the development and implementation team carries out on the new documentation system.
References
Jeong, B. K., Ji, S. Y., & Jeong, D. H. (2022). Lean IT With Value Stream Mapping Analysis: A Case Study in Software Development Life Cycle Process. Information Resources Management Journal (IRMJ), 35(1), 1-18.
Kim, M. J., Cho, M. E., & Jun, H. J. (2020). Developing design solutions for smart homes through user-centered scenarios. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 335.
Lalband, N., & Kavitha, D. (2019). Software engineering for smart healthcare applications. Int J Innov Technol Explor Eng, 8(6S4), 325-331.
Sturm, U., & Tscholl, M. (2019). The role of digital user feedback in a user-centered development process in citizen science. Journal of Science Communication, 18(1), A03.
Walden, A., Garvin, L., Smerek, M., & Johnson, C. (2020). User-centered design principles in the development of clinical research tools. Clinical Trials, 17(6), 703-711.
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Question 
Assume you are a nurse manager on a unit where a new nursing documentation system will be implemented. You want to ensure the system will be usable and acceptable for the impacted nurses. You realize a nurse leader must be on the implementation team.
The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation
To Prepare:
Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and reflect on the scenario presented.
Consider the benefits and challenges of involving a nurse leader on an implementation team for health information technology.
The Assignment: (2-3 pages, not including the title and reference page)
In preparation for filling this role, develop a 2- to 3-page role description for a graduate-level nurse to guide his/her participation on the implementation team. The role description should be based on the SDLC stages and tasks and should clearly define how this individual will participate in and impact each of the following steps:
Planning and requirements definition
Analysis
Design of the new system
Implementation
Post-implementation support
Use APA format and include a title page and reference page.