Implimenting Agile Software Development
Adopting Agile Software Methodologies
At Delta Health Systems
MBA 550
Dr. Mark Johnson
Tim Ott
April 17, 2013
Contents
Purpose/Goal of this Paper
The purpose of this paper is to consider the proposal from upper management that Delta’s software development departments universally adopt agile software methodologies for all products. I will be approaching my analysis of this proposed change using methods suggested by Andrew Petigrew, starting with understanding who we are and where we are now, progressing with defining where we need to end up, determining the need for change and the change that is needed, and ending with a conclusion and proposed course of action that corresponds to Delta’s particular circumstances.
Situation Analysis
Current State of Delta
Delta currently offers a combined clinical and financial software solution for home health agencies. Under the covers are two separate systems connected by a proprietary interface. The clinical system allows nurses to collect patient data (visit information, clinical measurements, demographic information, etc.) in the home using a device (laptop or tablet) running Microsoft Windows® operating system The financial system receives data from the clinical devices and prepares Medicare, Medicaid and private pay billings for the data. The clinical system is a collection of modules. Each module performs clinical data collection for a specific home healthcare discipline (Skilled Nursing, Physical Therapy, etc.).
Delta currently uses a planned software development methodology that is a variant or the waterfall approach. I will explain this methodology in the following section and compare it to agile methodologies when we consider the migration to agile software development.
Delta’s organizational structure is a rational-legal bureaucracy as describe by Weber. There are separate development units for Clinical and Financial products. As such, the leadership
At Delta Health Systems
MBA 550
Dr. Mark Johnson
Tim Ott
April 17, 2013
Contents
Purpose/Goal of this Paper
The purpose of this paper is to consider the proposal from upper management that Delta’s software development departments universally adopt agile software methodologies for all products. I will be approaching my analysis of this proposed change using methods suggested by Andrew Petigrew, starting with understanding who we are and where we are now, progressing with defining where we need to end up, determining the need for change and the change that is needed, and ending with a conclusion and proposed course of action that corresponds to Delta’s particular circumstances.
Situation Analysis
Current State of Delta
Delta currently offers a combined clinical and financial software solution for home health agencies. Under the covers are two separate systems connected by a proprietary interface. The clinical system allows nurses to collect patient data (visit information, clinical measurements, demographic information, etc.) in the home using a device (laptop or tablet) running Microsoft Windows® operating system The financial system receives data from the clinical devices and prepares Medicare, Medicaid and private pay billings for the data. The clinical system is a collection of modules. Each module performs clinical data collection for a specific home healthcare discipline (Skilled Nursing, Physical Therapy, etc.).
Delta currently uses a planned software development methodology that is a variant or the waterfall approach. I will explain this methodology in the following section and compare it to agile methodologies when we consider the migration to agile software development.
Delta’s organizational structure is a rational-legal bureaucracy as describe by Weber. There are separate development units for Clinical and Financial products. As such, the leadership
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