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What Health Systems Can Learn from Top Software Development Teams

Digital transformation is revolutionizing health systems by enhancing operational efficiency, patient care, and their overall market value proposition. As health systems continue and optimize their digital transformation initiatives, they can draw valuable insights from the world of software development, where best practices have been honed over decades to create high-quality, scalable, and maintainable systems. 

This blog explores key software development best practices and principles that health system digital transformation teams can adopt to drive successful organizational change and technological implementation.


Agile Methodologies for Iterative Progress

One of the most significant shifts in software development has been the adoption of agile methodologies. Health system digital transformation teams can greatly benefit from incorporating agile principles into their approach. This includes:


  • Embracing Incremental Change: Agile methodologies emphasize delivering working software in short iterations, allowing for frequent feedback and course correction. Health system digital transformation initiatives should aim for quick wins and incremental progress rather than large-scale, disruptive changes. By breaking down large transformation goals into smaller, achievable milestones, teams can:

    • Demonstrate value early and often

    • Adapt to changing requirements and priorities

    • Maintain momentum and stakeholder buy-in

    • Identify and mitigate risks sooner

  • Prioritizing Business Value: Agile methodologies like Scrum use techniques such as user stories and product backlogs to ensure development efforts align with business priorities. Health system digital transformation teams should similarly focus on initiatives that deliver the most value to the organization. This involves:

    • Close collaboration with clinical and administrative stakeholders

    • Regularly reassessing and reprioritizing transformation activities

    • Measuring outcomes rather than just outputs

  • Continuous Improvement: Agile teams hold retrospectives to reflect on their processes and identify areas for improvement. Health system digital transformation teams should also build in regular checkpoints to assess progress, gather feedback, and refine their approach.


User-Centered Design Thinking

Software development has increasingly embraced user-centered design practices to create products that truly meet user needs. Health system digital transformation teams can apply similar principles to ensure new processes and technologies enhance rather than hinder the employee and patient experience. This includes:


  • Understanding User Needs: Before diving into implementation, software teams conduct user research and create personas to deeply understand their target users. Health system digital transformation teams should similarly invest time in:

    • Interviewing healthcare providers, administrative staff, and patients

    • Mapping current processes and pain points

    • Identifying opportunities for improvement from the user perspective


  • Prototyping and Iteration: UX designers create low-fidelity prototypes to quickly test ideas with users before committing to full development. Health system digital transformation teams can use similar rapid prototyping techniques to:

    • Validate assumptions about new processes or tools

    • Gather feedback on proposed changes

    • Refine solutions before large-scale rollout


  • Usability Testing: Software teams conduct usability testing to ensure their products are intuitive and meet user needs. Health system digital transformation initiatives should incorporate similar testing to:

    • Identify friction points in new processes

    • Assess adoption readiness

    • Gather insights to inform training and change management


DevOps Culture and Practices

The DevOps movement has broken down silos between development and operations teams in software organizations. Health system digital transformation teams can learn from this collaborative approach to bridge gaps between IT and clinical units.  This includes:


  • Continuous Integration and Delivery: DevOps emphasizes automating the build, test, and deployment pipeline to enable frequent, reliable software releases. Health system digital transformation teams can apply similar principles by:

    • Automating repetitive tasks and workflows where possible

    • Implementing self-service capabilities for common requests

    • Streamlining approval processes


  • Infrastructure as Code: DevOps teams use infrastructure as code to manage IT environments in a repeatable, version-controlled manner. Health system digital transformation initiatives can benefit from taking a similar programmatic approach to:

    • Documenting and standardizing new processes

    • Managing configuration of enterprise systems

    • Enabling rapid scaling of transformation efforts


  • Monitoring and Observability: DevOps practices emphasize comprehensive monitoring and observability of systems in production. Health system digital transformation teams should likewise implement robust metrics and monitoring to:

    • Track adoption of new tools and processes

    • Identify bottlenecks and areas for optimization

    • Demonstrate ROI of transformation initiatives


Modular and Scalable Architecture

Software architects design systems with modularity and scalability in mind to enable future growth and change. Health system digital transformation teams can apply similar principles when redesigning business processes and technology stacks. This includes:


  • Microservices Architecture: Many software teams have moved away from monolithic applications towards microservices - small, independent services that work together. Health system digital transformation initiatives can take inspiration from this approach by:

    • Breaking down silos between departments

    • Creating modular, reusable process components

    • Enabling different parts of the organization to evolve at different speeds


  • API-First Design: Modern software systems are built with APIs as a first-class concern, enabling easier integration and reuse. Health system digital transformation teams should similarly prioritize creating well-defined interfaces between:

    • Legacy and new systems

    • Different departments and processes

    • Internal and external stakeholders


  • Cloud-Native Design: Software teams increasingly build cloud-native applications designed to take full advantage of cloud computing. Health system digital transformation initiatives should likewise embrace cloud principles such as:

    • Elasticity and auto-scaling

    • Pay-per-use pricing models

    • Managed services to reduce operational overhead


Quality Assurance and Testing

Software development teams have well-established practices for ensuring code quality and catching defects early. Health system digital transformation teams can adapt these approaches to validate changes and mitigate risks. This includes:


  • Automated Testing: Software teams rely heavily on automated tests to catch regressions and enable confident refactoring. Health system digital transformation initiatives can benefit from automation in areas like:

    • Data migration and reconciliation

    • Business process validation

    • User acceptance testing


  • Continuous Monitoring: Many software teams practice continuous monitoring, using real-time dashboards and alerts to catch issues quickly. Health system digital transformation teams should implement similar capabilities to:

    • Track key performance indicators

    • Identify adoption issues or process breakdowns

    • Enable data-driven decision making


  • Chaos Engineering: Some software teams purposely introduce failures into their systems to improve resilience. Health system digital transformation initiatives can apply this mindset by:

    • Conducting "fire drills" for new processes

    • Testing business continuity plans

    • Identifying single points of failure in transformed workflows


Knowledge Sharing and Documentation

Software development teams have evolved practices for effectively sharing knowledge and documenting systems. Health system digital transformation teams can adapt these approaches to capture and disseminate organizational knowledge. This includes:


  • Code Reviews and Pair Programming: Software teams use code reviews and pair programming to share knowledge and catch issues early. Health system digital transformation initiatives can apply similar peer review processes to:

    • New process designs

    • Technology architecture decisions

    • Change management plans


  • Living Documentation: Many software teams maintain "living documentation" that evolves alongside the codebase. Health system digital transformation teams should likewise prioritize keeping documentation up-to-date, including:

    • Process maps and standard operating procedures

    • System architecture diagrams

    • Training materials and knowledge bases


  • Inner Source: Some organizations apply open source principles internally, allowing teams to contribute to each other's projects. Health system digital transformation initiatives can foster a similar collaborative culture by:

    • Creating internal forums for sharing best practices

    • Encouraging cross-functional communities of practice

    • Recognizing and rewarding knowledge sharing


Security and Compliance by Design

Software teams increasingly adopt "shift left" security practices, integrating security throughout the development lifecycle. Health system digital transformation teams should similarly bake security and compliance considerations into their efforts from the start.


  • Threat Modeling: Software teams use threat modeling to identify potential vulnerabilities early in the design process. Health system digital transformation initiatives can apply similar techniques to:

    • Assess risks in new business processes

    • Identify potential data privacy issues

    • Ensure regulatory compliance in transformed workflows


  • Least Privilege Principle: Security-conscious software teams apply the principle of least privilege, giving users only the permissions they absolutely need. Health system digital transformation efforts should similarly:

    • Implement role-based access controls

    • Regularly audit and prune access permissions

    • Design processes with segregation of duties in mind


  • Compliance as Code: Some software teams are moving towards "compliance as code," encoding regulatory requirements into automated checks. Health system digital transformation initiatives can adopt a similar approach by:

    • Creating machine-readable policies and controls

    • Automating compliance reporting where possible

    • Implementing continuous compliance monitoring


Change Management and Training

While not traditionally considered part of software development, change management and training are crucial for successful digital transformation. Software teams' approaches to onboarding and knowledge transfer offer valuable lessons.


  • Continuous Learning Culture: Many software teams foster a culture of continuous learning, with regular "lunch and learns" or conference attendance. Health system digital transformation initiatives should similarly prioritize ongoing education through:

    • Internal training programs and workshops

    • External courses and certifications

    • Cross-training and job rotation opportunities


  • Gamification: Some software teams use gamification to make learning more engaging. Health system digital transformation efforts can apply similar techniques to:

    • Incentivize adoption of new tools and processes

    • Recognize and reward change champions

    • Make training more interactive and memorable


  • Self-Service Resources: Software teams often create extensive self-service documentation and FAQs. Health system digital transformation initiatives should likewise empower users with:

    • Searchable knowledge bases

    • Video tutorials and quick reference guides

    • Chatbots or AI assistants for common questions


Conclusion

Digital transformation is a complex undertaking that requires rethinking business processes, organizational structures, and technology stacks. By learning from the best practices of software development teams, health system transformation leaders can improve their chances of success and create more resilient, adaptable organizations.

Key takeaways include:

  1. Embrace agile methodologies for iterative progress and continuous improvement

  2. Apply user-centered design thinking to ensure solutions meet real needs

  3. Foster a DevOps culture of collaboration and automation

  4. Design modular, scalable architectures to enable future growth

  5. Implement robust quality assurance and testing practices

  6. Prioritize knowledge sharing and living documentation

  7. Bake security and compliance considerations in from the start

  8. Invest in change management and continuous learning

By adopting these principles, health system digital transformation teams can navigate the challenges of organizational change more effectively and deliver lasting value to their healthcare organizations.


Adaptive Product

At Adaptive Product, we specialize in helping healthcare innovators bring groundbreaking digital health solutions to life. Our expertise in healthcare digital transformation and product management, coupled with our deep understanding of healthcare data and analytics, positions us uniquely to navigate the complexities of driving digital tranformation as well as building and launching cutting-edge healthcare platforms. From strategic planning to technical delivery, our team ensures that high-value digital health solutions are delivered on time and within budget.

Whether you need healthcare digital transformation or product management consulting, Adaptive Product is your trusted partner in driving the future of healthcare. Contact us today to learn how we can help you unlock the full potential of digital technology to drive success in future of healthcare.

Visit us at Adaptive Product or call us at 800-391-3840.

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