HMIS Project Management Topics and Tools - OneCPD

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HMIS Project Management Topics and ToolsChapter 3: Staffing Models for HMIS ManagementAs mentioned in earlier chapters, communities have widely varying needs, resources, and HMISimplementation structures. All of these will affect the HMIS staffing design. This chapterdescribes some of the common staff positions that are used as part of HMIS management andoverall staffing combinations or models that have been successful in some communities.While one person should be ultimately responsible for the management of the HMIS, a team ofpeople may be used to manage the central operations. In addition to the central project staff, eachagency and project partner will also need to assign staff to manage agency-level HMISresponsibilities. Please note that the agency-level HMIS staffing is not discussed in detail in thisdocument.Overview of StaffingThe project manager oversees all the tasks and staff working on the HMIS project and is usuallythe contact person for stakeholder and external relations. In addition, the project manager clearlydefines the path to achieve the project’s goals, and adapts when the project goes off that path.The project manager is also responsible for ensuring that the project is operating within budget,that tasks are accomplished on time, that all activities achieve a high-level of quality, and that allHUD requirements are met by the project and by the subcontractors in service of the project.(The bulk of this document is devoted to further elucidating the job of the project manager.)Four additional staff roles are frequently used to manage an HMIS. The additional roles are:1. System Administrator2. Technical Support3. Trainer4. Data AnalystVarious permutations of these roles are possible. Each of these positions may be staffed by asingle person or by multiple people. Alternatively, one individual may be responsible for all ofthese duties as well as project management.A sample job posting and description for a project manager that also incorporates many of thesystem administration, training and technical assistance functions can be found as Appendix 3.Another community’s list of system administrator responsibilities that also incorporates somemanagement functions is found in Appendix 4. These two samples illustrate how these functionscan be combined and distributed in various ways. A description of each of these basic rolesfollows, along with discussion of issues relevant to each area that involve the project manager.8
HMIS Project Management Topics and ToolsSystem AdministratorThe system administrator is responsible for technical aspects of the HMIS implementation.These tasks include:• Setting up, maintaining and monitoring the system;• Ensuring information security;• Configuring new programs and users; and• Data management.Communities that contract with the HMIS solution provider or a third party to host the systemwill generally receive services for most of the tasks under the first two categories. Tasks underthe latter two categories are often retained by the lead agency.Set-up, Maintenance and Monitoring of the SystemThe system administrator oversees the purchasing, maintenance, and configuration of anyhardware needed to run the system. This primarily includes the servers, but it may also includerouters, switches, network hubs and peripherals such as printers, and storage equipment. Theproject manager will need to work with system administrator to keep these items within theproject budget without compromising necessary equipment. The system administrator will alsoobtain, oversee the licenses for, and configure the server operating systems, the databasemanagement system (e.g., Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server), third party software such as virusprotection or Virtual Private Networking tools, as well as the HMIS itself.In addition to configuring the HMIS, the system administrator may also maintain a separatedatabase for training purposes. Once the system is configured the administrator ensures that allof the hardware, networking, and software packages are performing at optimal capacity. He orshe will install upgrades not only to the HMIS but to the other software as needed and will beaware of when it is time to replace or repair hardware. By monitoring system logs, theadministrator can not only fine tune the software and database configuration to make sure that itis performing well, but can also optimize the configuration for the functions that it performs mostfrequently. For example, if users frequently search for clients based on date of birth, the systemadministrator can create an index to improve the speed of searches based on that field. Theadministrator can also use these logs to periodically check whether particular agencies arecontinuing to use the HMIS.The system administrator gathers user feedback on technical problems and/or softwareenhancements, tracks requests, and relays them to the software solution provider. The projectmanager should work with the system administrator to prioritize requests that are most importantto the overall project. While the project manager may be the primary contact for contractualissues with the software provider, the system administrator might have more day-to-dayinteraction.Information Security9
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HMIS Project Management Topics and Tools - OneCPD

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