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CPIA CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
Module 9: The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
From Clinical Problem to Coded Solution: The Pharmacist’s Role in Building and Refining Healthcare Technology.
From User to Architect: Speaking the Language of Development
Throughout your career, you have been a sophisticated user of technology. You’ve mastered complex pharmacy management systems and navigated the intricacies of electronic health records. You know what works, what doesn’t, and what could be better. You have a deep, intuitive understanding of how technology impacts clinical workflow and patient safety.
This module marks a fundamental shift in your role. You will move from being a consumer and evaluator of software to being an active participant in its creation. The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is the structured, disciplined process that technology teams use to design, build, test, and deploy new software and system enhancements.
To be an effective informatics pharmacist, you must understand this process as deeply as you understand pharmacokinetics. You are the essential bridge between the clinical world and the technical world. This module will equip you with the vocabulary, frameworks, and methodologies to translate a clinical need into a technical reality. You will learn how to articulate a problem so that an engineer can build a solution, how to test that solution to ensure it’s safe, and how to manage its release into the live clinical environment.
Your Guide to the Digital Blueprint
This module provides the blueprint for how clinical software is built and managed, ensuring you can contribute effectively at every stage of the process.
Section 1: SDLC Models (Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid)
An exploration of the core methodologies that govern software projects. We’ll compare the rigid, sequential Waterfall model with the flexible, iterative Agile framework to understand how different projects demand different approaches.
Section 2: The Requirements Phase (Gathering & Analysis)
A masterclass in translating clinical needs into precise technical specifications. Learn the art of the interview, workflow analysis, and writing effective user stories and requirement documents.
Section 3: Design & Prototyping
From words to wireframes. Understand how technical teams create the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) and how your clinical feedback shapes the final product before a single line of code is written.
Section 4: Development & Build
An inside look at the “black box” of coding. While you won’t be writing code, you’ll learn how to effectively interact with developers, answer questions, and keep projects on track during the implementation phase.
Section 5: Testing & Quality Assurance
Your most critical patient safety role in the SDLC. Learn the different types of testing, how to write effective test scripts, and master the art of User Acceptance Testing (UAT) to ensure software is safe and effective.
Section 6: Deployment & Maintenance
Go-live and beyond. Understand the strategies for deploying new software (big bang vs. phased rollout), the importance of post-launch support, and how to manage the ongoing cycle of bug fixes and enhancements.
