ABSTRACT
The healthcare industry is going through a significant change: the conversion from paper to electronic health records (EHRs) and the focus of healthcare on outcomes. To facilitate this change, the federal government has multiple programs and initiatives in place to encourage adoption. Software vendors develop commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems with the intention of selling them to a range of customers whose organizational size and structure and whose specific needs, results, and workflow can vary enormously. Custom-developed software, on the other hand, is developed with a single organization or use in mind. A project is a temporary activity that becomes progressively elaborated as one moves through the lifecycle and produces a unique product, service, or result. The temporary nature of a project does not relate specifically to the project's duration. Projects can last weeks or years, but every project goes through all phases of the project lifecycle.
