Question 1: Defining A Project — One Of Your Employees Is Co

Question 1 Defining A Projectone Of Your Employees Is Confused About W

Question 1: Defining a Project—One of your employees is confused about what constitutes a project versus a new process or procedure. She has provided a list of ongoing changes at your facility and asked for clarification. Your task is to review the listed scenarios and determine whether each meets the definition of a project. You should explain why each scenario is or is not considered a project, based on established project management criteria.

Paper For Above instruction

Understanding what constitutes a project is fundamental for effective management and resource allocation within healthcare settings. A project is generally defined as a temporary effort undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, distinguished by its clear start and end points, specific objectives, and defined scope. Conversely, a process or procedure refers to ongoing, repetitive activities designed to maintain operations without the specific goal of achieving a unique outcome. The following analysis evaluates each scenario against these criteria to determine whether it qualifies as a project.

Scenario 1: Ordering the Annual Supply of Medical Record Folders

This scenario involves the assistant director soliciting bids from vendors and selecting the best price for supplies. It is a routine procurement activity with a clear, repetitive nature, and does not involve a temporary effort to produce a unique deliverable. Therefore, it does not meet the criteria of a project but rather represents ongoing operational procurement processes.

Scenario 2: Developing a New Performance Improvement Program

This initiative involves designing a new program with data abstraction and monthly reporting. It has specific objectives, a defined scope, and a timeline to develop and implement the program, which makes it a project. It aims to create a unique performance improvement process, distinguishing it from routine activities.

Scenario 3: Converting Filing System from Alphabetic to Terminal Digit

This is a significant change to a file organization method, involving planning and implementation to produce a new operational procedure. Since it results in a distinct, new filing system, it qualifies as a project. Its temporary, goal-oriented nature meets project criteria.

Scenario 4: Installing New Cubicles in the HIM Department

This activity involves a temporary effort to modify physical infrastructure. Installing new cubicles is a discrete task with a start and end date, producing a specific outcome. Therefore, this activity qualifies as a project.

Scenario 5: Updating State Electronic Birth Certification Software

This activity involves a phased rollout of software updates across multiple hospitals over six months. It has a defined beginning and end, a clear scope, and aims to produce a specific outcome—up-to-date certification software across facilities. It qualifies as a project due to its scope, duration, and goal-oriented nature.

Scenario 6: Revising the Information Management Plan

Revising an existing plan with dedicated responsibility suggests a targeted effort to produce a revised, comprehensive document. Since the revision is a finite effort with a defined scope, it is considered a project.

Scenario 7: Developing New Productivity Standards for HIM

This task involves creating standardized measures to improve efficiency. It is a planned, temporary effort with a specific goal, making it a project.

Scenario 8: Preparing for Joint Commission Survey

Preparing for accreditation involves multiple tasks over a period to ensure compliance. While ongoing activities support quality standards, the specific effort focused on the survey preparation is a temporary, goal-directed activity, qualifying it as a project.

Scenario 9: Installing the Annual Coding Update

This is a scheduled, routine update with a specific deliverable, the updated coding resources. It is a recurring process with a clear start and end, thus it qualifies as a project due to its discrete nature.

Scenario 10: Writing the Monthly Employee Newsletter

This activity occurs regularly and involves ongoing content production. While essential, it is a repetitive, operational task rather than a project, as it lacks a distinct temporary effort to produce a unique outcome. Therefore, it is not considered a project.

Conclusion

In summary, activities with defined start and end points, specific objectives, and unique outcomes are classified as projects. Routine, ongoing processes or procedures, even if they involve significant effort, do not qualify as projects. Recognizing this distinction helps healthcare managers allocate resources efficiently, prioritize efforts, and maintain clarity in organizational initiatives.

References

  • Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). PMI.
  • Kerzner, H. (2013). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Wiley.
  • Hiles, A. (2015). Project Management for Healthcare. Routledge.
  • Heldman, K. (2018). Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Study Guide. Wiley.
  • Johansson, U. (2020). Healthcare Project Management: A Case Study Approach. Elsevier.
  • Leach, L. P. (2014). Critical Chain Project Management. Artech House.
  • Meredith, J. R., & Mantel, S. J. (2017). Project Management: A Managerial Approach. Wiley.
  • Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2016). Designing Qualitative Research. Sage.
  • Zwikael, O., & Smyrk, J. (2019). Project Management for the Creation of Organisational Value. Springer.
  • Shenhar, A. J., & Dvir, D. (2007). Reinventing Project Management: The Diamond Approach. Harvard Business Review Press.

Related Assignments