Case
Case Study #1 is the case presented at the end of Chapter 1 in Pinto and labeled Case Study 1.2, titled The IT Department at Hamelin Hospital. It is found on pages 30 and 31 of the text. Answer the 3 questions given at the end of the case. Your answers should be thorough, reflect the material in the chapter, and be well-written. The case is also attached below.
Instructions
- Read the case thoroughly, taking notes of important points.
- Think about what is happening in the case and how the events relate to project management, especially the chapters being covered this week.
- Determine the problem being posed in the case.
- Review the course material provided in the text or in videos or other materials available in the course.
- Do any outside research you feel will be helpful. Sometimes finding some information on the internet may help you develop a better solution. Be sure to provide a reference to any material you obtain from an outside source. That’s just good professionalism.
- Determine the solution or actions you would propose in the situation presented in the case.
- Prepare a formal report that first summarizes the situation found in the case and then provides a detailed explanation of your proposed solution or actions. Try to be so complete with your report that there will be no doubt as to what you are proposing and why you think it will solve the problem you found in the case.
- Your report should fall into the range of 250 to 400 words. This is just a guideline so feel free to say more if it is relevant and not rambling.
- Consider this report a professional paper. Write it as well as you can using SpellCheck and GrammarCheck to help you. Keep it neat and clean and well-organized. One of our goals this semester is to build everyone’s ability to think critically and to prepare professional work.
The IT Department at Hamelin Hospital
Hamelin Hospital is a large (700-bed) regional hospital in the northeastern United States. The information technology (IT) department employs 75 people and has an operating budget of over $35 million. The department is responsible for managing 30–40 projects, ranging from small, such as redesigning computer screens, to very large, such as multimillion-dollar system development projects that can run for over a year. Hamelin’s IT department has been growing steadily, reflecting the hospital’s commitment to expanding its information storage and processing capacities. The two principal functions of the IT department are developing new software applications and maintaining the current information system. Project management is a way of life for the department.
The IT department jobs fall into one of five categories: (1) help-desk technician, (2) programmer, (3) senior programmer, (4) systems analyst, and (5) project manager. Help-desk technicians field queries from computer system users and solve a wide range of problems. Most new hires start at the help desk, where they can become familiar with the system, learn about problem areas, become sensitive to users’ frustrations and concerns, and understand how the IT department affects all hospital operations. As individuals move up the ladder, they join project teams, either as programmers or systems analysts. Finally, five project managers oversee a constantly updated slate of projects. In addition, the workload is always being supplemented by new projects. Team personnel finish one assignment and then move on to a new one. The typical IT department employee is involved in seven projects, each at a different stage of completion.
The project management system in place at Hamelin is well regarded. It has spearheaded a tremendous expansion of the hospital’s IT capabilities and thus helped the hospital to gain a competitive advantage over other regional hospitals. Recently, in fact, Hamelin began “farming out” its IT services on a fee-for-service basis to competing hospitals needing help with their records, administration, order-entry systems, and so forth. Not surprisingly, the results have improved the hospital’s bottom line: At a time when more and more health care organizations are feeling the effects of spiraling health care costs, Hamelin’s IT department has helped the hospital sustain continuous budget increases, additional staffing, a larger slate of projects, and a track record of success.
Questions
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of starting most new hires at the help-desk function?
- What are the potential problems with requiring project team members to be involved in multiple projects at the same time? What are the potential advantages?
- What signals does the department send by making “project manager” the highest position in the department?
