How Long Will it Take?

Well, as my economic professor always said, "That depends". Before I give you some general scheduling estimates, let me tell you what it depends on and what assumptions I hope you are making for this project.

1. You should have a professional or very good project manager and the vendor should provide one on their end as well.
2. You should plan to develop your own test cases and do your own testing (another BLOG to come).
3. You are likely going to want to develop your own training materials and train the users yourself.
4. You are going to conduct a Pilot or Beta test, which is done with a small department, program, or team in full production.
5. You are implementing EDI claims
6. You are dedicating resources to this project, rather than 'squeezing it in'!
7. You are planning for the following phases (typical software deployment cycle):
   - Planning/Design
   - Set-up/configuration/development
   - Testing/Acceptance
   - Training
   - Pilot
   - Roll-out/Production/Go-Live

In general, if you purchase an EHR-S from a reputable/proven vendor, you can estimate the time it will take you to prepare for a roll-out as follows (After contract signing, excluding complete roll-out which depends on # of sites, programs, etc.):

A Basic/low-end product should take from 4 to 6 months

A Mid-range product should take from 6 to 9 months

A High-end product should take from 9 to 12 months (or more)

Let's not forget about the pre-contract steps, like Budgeting, Selection, and Contract Development/Negotiation. If you are purchasing a mid-range product and plan to GO-LIVE with your first site/program within 6 months, your count down schedule (and resource allocation) may look like this:

1. Month -5 = Budget
2. Month -4 = Requirements
3. Month -2 & 3 = Vendor Selection
4. Month -1 = Develop/Negotiate contract, pricing, and deliverables
5. Month 0 = Contract Signature
6. Month 1 = Planning/Resource Allocation
7. Month 1 = Product Installation
8. Month 2 = Training (T3)
9. Month 2 = Design/Set-up/Configuration/Development
10. Month 3= Data Conversion
11. Month 4= Testing
12. Month 5 = Pilot Training (this is also a test/trial run of the training)
13. Month 5 = Pilot
14. Month 6 = User Training
15. Month 6 = Go-Live/Roll-out begins /Product in Production (at least one program/site)

You can see that this is really a 12 month schedule (consider holidays, vacations, oh yes, and audits!) and requires you keep moving through the tasks/phases each month. Is this realistic for your organization and your vendor?
It is good practice to put the schedule in writing using a scheduling tool that integrates resources into the tasks or phases (e.g. using Microsoft Project). This will give you something to discuss with the Steering Committee or leadership team to assure you have support for an aggressive non-stop project schedule. You should also include a schedule outline or key milestones in your vendor contract (another BLOG to come).

by Keely McGeehan, Sahara Management Solutions, Inc.