Tim Churches wrote: >I don't think anyone can say exactly what >the development model for entire OpenEHR systems will be, but it sure >won't look like any traditional IT development models (thank goodness). >More like the Linux model, but with health professionals instead of >geeks and nerds (and not just nerdy/geeky health professionals as hang >out on this list), so there will be differences. > >All we need is the OpenEHR kernel. It's coming, I know. > >Tim C
If it is successful, I expect it will look a lot like VistA, at least in broad outline and likely in many details. This reminds me strongly of discussions from 20+ years ago when I first became involved with MUMPS, free software (including CoSTAR and Fileman, the core of VistA), and the enthusiasts who attended the MUMPS User Group meetings. Before it was called VistA and before it was called DHCP it was loosely referred to as the Underground Railroad. Actually that name referred more to the group of people working to get useful software into the VA hospitals inspite of big IT. This was a precursor to today's Open Source movement, and there is much precedent and valuable lessons for today in the history of it. Back then it was called grassroots development. The VA's Underground Railroad grew out of the MUMPS Users Group, which at that time already had a long history of grassroots user oriented standards development. I believe MUMPS was unique at that time in having a well developed and actively evolving standard that was user driven and not owned by any one vendor. I truly believe that the grassroots origin of VistA is the secret of its great success and the root of many of the problems that VistA developers have had to contend with over the last two decades with VA management. They did not start out with a top-down plan for a gargantuan software development. They had seen too many monstrous failures coming down to them from Big IT to have confidence in that approach - and many more still coming. Instead they focused on a common framework provided by Fileman and simple solutions to practical problems they could understand and work on as individuals separated over great distances and (gasp) before the internet. --------------------------------------- Jim Self Chief Systems Developer and Manager VMTH Computer Services, UC Davis (http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/us/jaself)
