#naphsis

QuantumMark submitted a Poster for presentation this year at the NAPHSIS Annual Conference. The poster entitled “Underlying Cause of Project Success:  The Team”  compared two of our Public Health projects that were similar in scope and size to understand why one was successful and the other was not. In both projects we had performed two audits comprised of 100 questions that measured project status. The questions were mapped to 15 components of best practices in project management and further grouped into three segments showing the degree to which the projects:

Established a sound project infrastructure,

Utilized the established project infrastructure, and

Effectively developed a successful team.

QuantumMark to Present at National Conference

In addition to exhibiting as a corporate member at this year’s conference, QuantumMark, LLC has been selected to present at one of the breakout sessions for this year’s National Association of Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) Annual Meeting. QuantumMark has also been chosen to provide a poster presentation.

During the breakout session QuantumMark will discuss the company’s recent project to partner with NAPHSIS to build a Business and Marketing Plan for the Electronic Verification of Vital Events (EVVE) System. QuantumMark’s co-founder, Suzanne March, will focus on the consultant’s perspective highlighting the approach to the project and how it compares to other types of planning initiatives. Rose Trasatti Heim from NAPHSIS will present the client perspective discussing project results and recommendations.

Each year NAPHSIS selects various states and organizations to visually present a topic of interest in a poster format. QuantumMark’s poster is entitled “Underlying Cause of Project Success: The Team.” The poster compares two similar projects against 15 commonly recognized success factors to understand the differing outcomes and make recommendations that would improve project success rates. Company representatives will be available during the Poster Session on Tuesday afternoon June 4th for questions and further discussion.

QuantumMark is a certified Women Owned Small Business by the National Women Business Owner’s Corporation (NWBOC). The Company’s Principals have nearly two decades of consulting service to public and private sectors assisting clients to make break-through improvements in their ability to serve their customers. The company excels in turning strategies into reality through well constructed projects that achieve the desired results. On time. On budget.

QuantumMark®, LLC Selected to Develop Business and Marketing Plan for Electronic Verification of Vital Events System

The National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) has developed and implemented the Electronic Verification of Vital Events (EVVE) system that allows immediate confirmation of the information on a birth certificate presented by an applicant to a government office anywhere in the nation irrespective of the place or date of issuance. QuantumMark®, LLC has been awarded a contract to assist NAPHSIS in the development of a Business and Marketing Plan for EVVE.

The EVVE system represents a significant breakthrough in the reporting of vital events in the United States. Project Manager, Rose Trasatti Heim states “The EVVE system provides the capability to quickly, reliably, and securely validate birth and death information.” Agencies using EVVE can access current vital records information and streamline workflows throughout the proof of vital event process. The EVVE system provides a single user-friendly interface to all vital records offices, supports real-time and batch queries, safeguards the confidentiality of data, generates detailed reports, validates both birth and death records, protects against potential fraudulent activities, and improves the level of customer service.

EVVE is currently used by several federal and state agencies. There are no commercial users at this time. QuantumMark®, LLC, a NAPHSIS Corporate Partner, will work with NAPHSIS to prepare a Business Plan and a Marketing Plan specifically focused on increasing the volume of electronic transactions processed by the EVVE system. The project will result in a Business and Marketing Plan that will provide NAPHSIS with a roadmap for expanding the EVVE user base to new users in existing markets and entirely new markets.

Working jointly with NAPHSIS, QuantumMark®, LLC will complete the Business and Marketing Plan project in mid-December 2012 allowing for implementation of the newly developed plans in 2013.

QuantumMark®, LLC is a certified Women Owned Business by the National Women Business Owner’s Corporation (NWBOC). The Company’s Principals have nearly two decades of consulting service to public and private sectors. QuantumMark excels in turning strategies into reality through well constructed projects that achieve desired results. On time. On budget. To learn more, please visit www.quantummark.com.

NAPHSIS is a nonprofit, national association representing the 57 vital records jurisdictions that collect, process, and issue birth and death records, coordinating their activities with each other and the federal agencies by developing standards, promoting consistent policies, and providing technical assistance. More information is provided at www.naphsis.org.

Contact:

Diane Borhani, QuantumMark® Managing Partner

One day you wake up and realize that your project is several months behind schedule because the software vendor isn’t managing the ENTIRE project.

So now what?  Here are some ideas:

Make sure you have a very strong project manager.  If you are appointing someone from your team with little or no experience, make sure they have a mentor to support them as they learn the ropes.

Realize that you are driving the schedule.  Be diligent about keeping on task.  Don’t give the vendor an excuse for delays.  That translates to money.

Realize that you have to manage the project’s scope.  The vendor will be only too happy to accept any new ideas that come along if it means justifying a change order.  Resist. Resist.  Resist.  If some mandatory business requirement was forgotten, you may have no choice.  But otherwise the goal should be to maintain the original scope so you can bring the project in on time and on budget.  Scope creep translates to money.

If your team is inexperienced, realize that you are asking them to do something for which they are not prepared.  Introduce training at key points in the project to teach them how to fulfill their roles.  Make it a rewarding and career building experience for everyone.

How wonderful!  You have finally selected a software vendor to provide you with the new system that will dramatically improve the performance of your organization.  You can now relax because the vendor’s project manager will take it from here. Nothing could be further from the truth! Here’s why:

Vendors have a limited view of the project.  Unless you have specified otherwise in the contract the vendors sole focus will be on producing and installing the agreed upon software.  They don’t lay claim to any of the other tasks associated with the project.

Technology is off limits.  Your IT folks don’t like vendors touching their equipment or systems.  You will need to be the facilitator between the vendor and your technical staff to make sure that the environment is ready for the software to be installed.

You will be given assignments.  There will be a seemingly endless list of items the vendor will need from you.  It is a little like building a house.  You start with the architectural plan.  But before you are done you have to pick out the handles for the door, base molding at the floor and paint colors galore.  Someone needs to distribute these tasks and manage them to completion.

Some things are better not done by the vendor.  For example, when it comes to User Acceptance Testing only you can be sure that the tests will adequately verify that the system is ready to move into a pilot test.  That means you should develop the plan and all the test scripts.  Certainly the vendor should thoroughly test the software before you get it.  But you are the final authority on whether the system is accurate, complete and stable.