Clinic Project Charter
About this Project Charter
Project Charter Ownership:
The Vice-President of Operations is the Project Sponsor, and as such is responsible for the
content of this project charter. Revision of the Project Charter will be done at her discretion.
Send proposals for revision of the Project Charter to her in writing. Email will be used to
communicate and accept minor revisions of this document to project team members who have
signed the charter.
Version:
This is version 1.0 of the project charter formally adopted on September 20th, 2004.
Purpose
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To create a structure that will allow all participants to work together as a team on the
final implementation phase of the project.
To define the specific roles, responsibilities, and project management processes that will
facilitate the team approach required to achieve a successful result.
Project Overview
The clinic began a process in October 2002 to procure a new practice management system. The
project has evolved to include a realignment of all of the clinic’s technology resources.
The following is a brief overview of the process used by the clinic in this project to procure a new
practice management system:
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A baseline assessment was conducted, documenting existing states of the practice
management system and technology infrastructure.
A set of requirements for a new practice management system was developed, based on
interviews with clinic staff and management.
An RFP was developed and distributed to qualified vendors, based on the requirements
document.
Vendor proposals were evaluated and finalists selected for more intense scrutiny.
Site visits were conducted by clinic management, staff, and consultants to further
evaluate the finalist systems.
A vendor was selected and a contract was negotiated with the vendor.
A staffing plan was designed to address management and operation of technology, and a
CIO and Network Administrator were hired.
A technology framework was designed to address the overall needs of the agency and
facilitate effective use of the new practice management system.
A new technology infrastructure was designed and implementation has begun.
Customization and configuration of the practice management system has begun.
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While the primary goal of the project is implementation of the practice management system, the
project also includes the information technology infrastructure and management framework that
is being developed to serve all of our program areas. The clinic is developing the internal
capacity to independently manage and operate their technology systems.
Technology Goals
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Technology and information systems management will be more directly aligned
with the mission of the clinic.
The internal capacity to manage and operate technology and information systems
will be developed within the clinic.
Vendors and consultants providing technology and information systems support
and services will be managed to ensure consistent and appropriate delivery of
technology support and training to staff.
Technology and information systems will be developed into an organizational
asset that does not reside in an individual staff member or external resource.
Project Objectives
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Implementation of a new technology infrastructure.
Implementation of a new technology support/help desk system.
Implementation of our new practice management system.
Effective training developed and delivered in general computer skills and the
practice management system.
Lay the groundwork for successful, sustainable operation of technology and
information systems that serve the needs of the entire organization.
Project Team Members, Roles, and Responsibilities
Role
Vice President of
Operations
Project Sponsor
Project Team Member
Responsibility
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Role
Medical Director
Project Advisor
Vice President of Operations.
Project Sponsor.
Project advocate and visionary.
Ultimate authority for the project, final decision-maker for escalated
issues.
Conduit of information between the CEO, senior management, and the
Board of Directors.
Coordinates the administration of project finances, and the final authority
for approving purchases and acceptance of contract deliverables.
Manages the relationships with consultants
Responsibility
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Vice President of Clinical Operations.
Responsible for assuring that functional needs of the clinics are adequately
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Project Team Member
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Day-to-day project manager of the project for the clinic.
Responsible for building the infrastructure to address the information
technology needs of the affiliate and to run the practice management system.
Makes tactical decisions relating to technology.
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When the decision involves substantial cost, long-term commitments, or
significant risk to the affiliate, prepares and presents analysis to the Vice
President of Operations defining the business case and options for
addressing it, and makes recommendations.
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Supports management in the decision-making process.
Develops information technology policies and procedures, subject to approval
by the COO.
Chief architect of clinic technology and information systems.
Conduit of information about the project and technology between the senior
management and the staff.
Assigns tasks for completion by team members, and approves completion of
those tasks.
Manages internal affiliate systems to support technology (help desk and
service level agreements).
Implements the plan to train staff in the effective use of technology,
information systems, and applications.
Monitors critical path of project activities and institutes risk management
initiatives.
Supervises Network Administrator.
Practice Management System Administrator.
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Designs optimal workflow and processes based on client input,
preferences and requirements.
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Participates in practice management system training and testing.
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Identifies issues during project implementation, activation, and postimplementation.
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Troubleshoots issues identified by users.
Provides initial application training and support to users.
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Chief Information
Officer
Client Project Manager
Project Team Member
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Practice Management
System Administrator
Project Team Member
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Role
Client Technical
represented in the design of the practice management system.
Responsible for providing appropriate access to Center Directors and clinic
staff while maintaining maximum operational effectiveness.
Provides knowledge of key operational and/or clinical processes.
Clinic Services Manager.
Practice Management System Administrator.
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Designs optimal workflow and processes based on affiliate preferences
and requirements.
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Participates in practice management system training and testing.
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Identifies issues during project implementation, activation, and postimplementation.
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Troubleshoots issues identified by users.
Provide requirements relating to billing and patient charges.
Provides initial application training and support to users.
Provides knowledge of key operational processes.
Responsibility
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Network Administrator.
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Support Leader
Project Team Member
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Vendor Project
Manager
Project Team Member
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Vendor Project Advisor,
Lead Vendor
Representative
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Vendor Project Advisor.
Training
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Role
Project Lead for the vendor
Primarily responsible for installation and configuration of the practice
management system to the specifications established by the clinic.
Responsible for providing information relating to the successful
implementation and operation of the practice management system.
Responsible for coordinating all vendor deliverables, including custom
programming and system configuration support.
Participate in training of the Super Users and set up of the system, as per
the training plan.
Provides ongoing high-level practice management system support.
Provides software, hardware, and infrastructure information and
specifications that relate to the operation of the practice management
system
Provide additional technical and configuration information from the
perspective of the vendor
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Represent the vendor’s corporation.
Provides high-level project support and oversight as required.
Vice President of Training and Implementation for the vendor
Participate in administrator training and system configuration meetings, as
per the training plan.
Provide additional technical and configuration information from the
perspective of the vendor
Refer the clinic to other vendor resources to provide technical and
configuration information, as needed.
Responsibility
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Consultant
Project Team Member
Responsible for project tasks assigned by CIO
Provides technology support to staff (help desk).
Practice Management System Administrator.
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Participates in Super User training sessions
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Identifies issues during project implementation, activation, and postimplementation
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Troubleshoots issues identified by users
Provides initial application training and support to Millbrook users.
Conducts backups of the SQL Server database.
Administers the data security and control procedures
Provides support and maintenance of network, application systems,
installation of new hardware and software, and other help desk tasks.
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Provide management consulting, focusing on functional specifications,
system design, and clinic flow issues.
Assume roles or perform tasks defined by the Project Sponsor and clinic
Project Manager.
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Consultants do not make project decisions, but support the decisionmaking process with analysis.
Provide management consulting, focusing on technology issues.
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Project Management Processes
The following processes are to be followed by members of the Project Team
1. Decision-making
 The Project Manager/CIO will be the primary contact for project decisions.
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Make decisions as appropriate, and escalate strategic or high-impact decisions to
the COO.
 Clinic management will make strategic decisions.
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Consultants will provide decision-support analysis.
 Tactical decisions will be made by management, or conditionally delegated to members
of clinic staff, consultants, or representatives of the vendor.
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When clinic staff, consultants, or representatives of the vendor are asked to make
tactical decisions, they will be given authorization in writing with any conditions
clearly stated.
2. Communication
 Project team meetings
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All formal meetings of the full project team will be documented with official notes.
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A person will be selected to take notes, submit them to the clinic’s project
manager for approval, and disseminate them to all members of the project
team.
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Notes will cover all decisions, action items, and any relevant information
discussed.
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Participants will be responsible for reading the notes and assuring that the
contents accurately reflect their recollections.
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Additions and modifications must be reported to the note taker, and revised
notes approved by the CIO and communicated to the full project team.
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Informal project team meetings and meetings of subsets of the full project team
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Notes will be taken, decisions and potential issues documented, and the notes
will be communicated to the full project team.
 Important project communications
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All important project communications must be made or reiterated in writing.
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Important communications include, but are not limited to, any communication
that contains information that could potentially affect infrastructure design,
system configuration, and project timelines.
 Technical and system configuration information
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To avoid confusion or misinterpretation, technical and system configuration
information must be communicated in writing.
The clinic will provide the vendor with complete and detailed design and
configuration information covering technology infrastructure and systems
The vendor will be informed of any changes or plans that may change the
client network and/or impact the operation of the practice management
system
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The clinic will establish clear protocols to govern how remote access to
server will be managed, and work done documented
Acknowledgement of communications
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If unable to respond fully to an email promptly, project team members will at
minimum acknowledge email with their name on the ‘to’ line.
Methods of communication
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Email
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Email is the preferred mode of written communication.
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Use the ‘to’ line to identify the primary recipient who is expected to respond
and the ‘cc’ line to identify recipients who are not expected to respond.
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Telephone calls
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Decisions made or actions taken in telephone calls will be followed by a
documentation email, to ensure that the participant’s perceptions of the call
are aligned.
Project Management Tools
1. Issues list
 Issues will be identified by all project team members and vendor partners, and submitted
in writing to Project Manager.
 Issues will be logged on the issues list and discussed in the weekly team meetings.
 Critical issues that could potentially impact the critical path will be escalated to the
Project Sponsor for awareness and for assistance with resolution.
2. Unified task list
 The Clinic Project Manager will be responsible for managing the task list.
 The task list is a planning tool only. Tasks and dependencies can change rapidly
between iterations of the unified task list. Confirm tasks with her in advance and follow
decision-making protocols, as appropriate.
 Project Team members will be responsible for reading the unified task list and
communicating with the CIO in writing about the status of tasks assigned to them.
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Regular, scheduled project team meetings will be held.
Some meetings will be in-person and others held on conference calls.
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I have read and acknowledge the project charter:
Vice President of Operations________________________________________
Medical Director__________________________________________________
Clinic Chief Information Officer_____________________________________
Clinic Manager___________________________________________________
Vendor_________________________________________________________
Consultant_______________________________________________________
Date_____________
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