Data flows. C L L L L P P P P. Data repositories. L L L L L P P P P. Information system svcs L L L L L P P P P. Processes + data. - L L L L P P P P. Systems + data.
Governance of Extended Lifecycle in Large-Scale eHealth Initiatives: Analyzing Variability of Enterprise Architecture Elements Juha Mykkänena, Hannu Virkanena, Mika Tuomainena a
HIS R&D, School of Computing, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio
Abstract and Objective The governance of large eHealth initiatives requires traceability of many requirements and design decisions. We provide a model which we use to conceptually analyze variability of several enterprise architecture (EA) elements throughout the extended lifecycle of development goals using interrelated projects related to the national ePrescription in Finland. Keywords Governance, eHealth, enterprise architecture, variability
Methods We analysed nine projecs related to the national ePrescription development in Finland, using a list of EA descriptions which have been suggested as being especially central in EAs to analyze the presence / absence, traceability, plurality and abstraction level of these elements in projects. The following initiatives were analyzed: 1) Legislation project by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 2) ePrescription specifications project by the National Insurance Institute (Kela) for use cases, requirements, authorizations, information design, 3) HL7 CDA interface specification projects, 4) TJSERT: The certification project by the national centre of health and welfare (Stakes / THL), 5. KuntaIT integration architecture project to support local implementations, 6) KanTa implementation project of the national ePrescription centre, 7) Product implementation projects by several system vendor companies for EPR and pharmacy systems, 8) the product audit project, 9). Number of local deployment projects.
Results Most EA elements were specified or reused in projects, some were also implicitly assumed. Tables 1 and 2 summarize the plurality and abstraction level of elements in projects. Table 1. Plurality of EA element specifications in projects (for which organizations the element is defined): All applicable organizations (A), Selected several organizations (S), Identified individual organizations (I) Initiative Element Principles Value chain Drivers, goals, objectives Organizations / actors Concept relationships Processes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
A A A -
A A A A A A
A A A
A A A A A
S A A A S S
I I I I I I
S S S S S S
S S S S S S
I S S S I S
Data entities Data flows Data repositories Information system svcs Processes + data Systems + data Functional decomposition / systems map Processes + systems Application portfolio Systems + functions Application communication Interfaces Technology services Technology standards Technology portfolio
A S -
A A A I A A A
A A A S A A A
A A A S A A A
S S A S S S S
A I I I I I I
S S S S S S S
S S S S S S S
I I I I I I I
-
A A A
A A A
A A A
S S S S
I I I
S S S
S S S
I I I I
-
A I -
A A -
A S A -
S S -
A I A I
S S S S
S S I -
I I I I
Table 2. Abstraction level of EA elements in projects: Conceptual / generic (C), Logical / designed (L), Physically deployed / implemented (P). Initiative Element Principles Value chain Drivers, goals, objectives Organizations / actors Concept relationships Processes Data entities Data flows Data repositories Information system svcs Processes + data Systems + data Functional decomposition / systems map Processes + systems Application portfolio Systems + functions Application communication Interfaces Technology services Technology standards Technology portfolio
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
C C C C C L L -
L C L L L L L L L L L L L
L L L L L L L L L L
L L L L L L L L L L L L
L C L L L C L L L L L L L
P P P P L P P P P P P P P
P P P L L P P P P P P P L
P P P L L P P P P P P P L
P P P P L P P P P P P P P
-
L L L
L L P
L L L
L L L L
P P P
P P P
P P P
P P P P
-
L L -
P P -
L L L -
L L -
P P P P
P P P P
P P P -
P P P P
Conclusion The analysed elements and EA artefacts can be used to support traceability and understanding of temporal, design and systemlevel dependencies in eHealth governance, but the selection of more atomic EA elements would be even more beneficial.