Nicklaus Children's Health System Case Study
Improving the Quality of Testing with TransIT
The Problem
“
We needed a tool that could facilitate remote testing and improve what we were doing to maintain our complex excel-based integration testing scripts. It needed to be something that our analysts and testers could easily learn and use to save time and money”
David Miller, Executive Director IT EMR Applications, Nicklaus Children's Health System
Nicklaus Children’s understood the importance of a quality testing practices.
However, …
- Inaccuracies and inefficiencies were being seen because test scripts were not in standard format or located in a centralized place.
- Management and tracking of testing events and activities was inconsistent and uncoordinated increasing cost and time spent.
- Resources were overwhelmed with project tasks and other responsibilities with no time to write and maintain test scripts - scripts were often not ready or correct leading to project delays.
- Remotely run testing was difficult to manage; status tracking and testing handoffs were hard to coordinate for timely completion of test scripts.
The Review
Nicklaus Children’s Hospital assessed the problem and determined specific Goals and Success Criteria.
The Investigation identified:
- Test scripts across applications were Excel-based and not easy to update
- It was hard to manage issues resulting from rounds of testing
- Testing processes and outcomes were inconsistent
Goals were established:
- Improve overall coordination, management, and maintenance of test scripts
- Streamline issue tracking and resolution
- Quickly train the broad group of people participating in testing
- Efficiently execute Integration Testing remotely
- Preserve historical results from testing
Success Criteria determined:
- Accurately reports data metrics and communicates in real time status of testing and issue resolution during test rounds
- Efficiently loads test scripts into the tool in time for Testing
- Adopted by staff/teams for consistency and standard practices
- Facilitates the remote testing processes
- Provides external and internal compliance audits
The Solution
Nicklaus Children’s implemented MAKE Solutions’ TransIT tool to support the organization’s testing needs and goals.
They then added MAKE’s Testing as a Service (TaaS) to further reduce the burden on resources and increase the quality of the testing.
01
Adopts TransIT for use for integration testing to better manage testing and issue resolution.
02
Adds MAKE’s TransIT TaaS to lead testing for ongoing projects for the clinical systems.
03
Expands use of TaaS to include loading and maintaining test scripts for all applications.
Actionable and Accountable with TransIT and Testing as a Service (TaaS)
MAKE brought the expertise with their Testing as a Service (TaaS) offering to carry us through. We were also able to use TransIT Plans to track and manage our data load for our self-scheduling project.”
David Miller ● Executive Director IT EMR Applications
Measurable Improvement - The Value Achieved
More than 800 hours per project saved!
"Prior to TransIT we would spend 2 to 3 weeks, upwards of 800 hours across multiple resources, reviewing and updating test scripts as part of a major upgrade or implementation project. Now that we have TransIT, testing and maintenance practices are part of our continuous operational lifecycle, virtually eliminating this intensive time demand on our resources . . .
TransIT makes it easy to stay current, include new functionality, implement repeatable plans and practices, and communicate!”
- David Miller, Executive Director IT EMR Applications
Increased Accuracy & Tracking
- Improved universal library of standard test scripts
- Advanced project task tracking – from planning, to workflow development, script preparation, resource allocation, and backloading and cutover processes
- Dedicated Testing Coordination
Decreased Time & Effort
- Virtual elimination of time spent writing and correcting test scripts
- Reduced time spent logging and tracking testing issues
- Decreased project delays from testing activities
- Elimination of unproductive time spent by testing resources waiting around
Accessible & Organized
- Centralized, accessible cloud-based location for all testing related materials, activities, and compliance
- Improved daily Testing start and completion times
- Integrated notes capture for easy script adjustments
- Adoption of consistent, repeatable processes and practices
Faster Testing
- Enhanced scheduling and alerting through auto-notifications
- Reduced time spent identifying and communicating where and how issues occurred with integrated issue logging and tracking
- Improved accuracy with real time status reporting and tracking
"
Without MAKE’s TransIT tool and their TaaS team we would have missed workflow issues. Our step-by-step test scripts brought to light missed handoffs and processes. We improved our design prior to go-live, avoiding costly delays and creating a better end user experience.”
David Miller - Nicklaus Children's Health System
About Nicklaus Children's Health System
Nicklaus Children’s is the top-ranked children’s hospital in South Florida.
- 4,230+ Employees
- 800+ Physicians
- 500+ Pediatric Subspecialists
- 38+ Locations
- 309+ Beds
- 12+ Outpatient Centers
- 97,461+ ED Visits
- 16,220+ Admissions
- 15,235+ Surgeries
- 535,431+ Outpatient Visits
- 150+ concurrently active Clinical and Business IT enabled projects
