Part 4 - Iowa Medicaid Enterprise

RFP MED-12-001 | Technical ProposalIowa Medicaid Enterprise System Service Procurement | MMIS and Core MMIS Operationsof the Drug Rebate functionality and the implementation of 12 out of about 250 reports. In both cases,there were sound reasons for the decision.The most important part of operational recovery after a declaration of a system failure is the initialassessment of the impact of the failure. Formal declaration of the failure immediately starts the recoveryand continuity processes to bring the business services online per the Business Continuity Plan andservice level agreements. While all detailed results are generally not immediately known, the initialassessment provides direction to the Department and Team Noridian regarding what planned orunplanned actions need to be considered for coordination and immediate implementation. Fluid, wellcoordinatedcommunications, escalation to the appropriate decision maker, and trained staff are a criticalpart of operational recovery. In the event that there is a system failure, Team Noridian workscollaboratively with the Department to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to regain effective andefficient operations.System CutoverTeam Noridian confirms that each component of the system is ready to be implemented and receives allnecessary Department approvals before beginning the transition to operations. Team Noridian ensuresthat all components of the release are fully operational no later than the date specified in theimplementation schedule and work plan by leveraging Team Noridian's integrated planning, design, anddevelopment methodology. Team Noridian also updates and receives Department sign-off for allpreceding and related project tasks (e.g., data conversion, UAT, parallel testing, and operationalreadiness), prior to full implementation of each of the releases.Team Noridian develops a checklist to manage the cutover activities for each of the releases (EarlyProvider Release and full MMIS). The checklist at a minimum includes key activities, such as:• Preparing for operations, including recruiting, hiring, and training staff• Loading final production code and validating in the production environment• Conducting final data conversion and validating the files• Establishing system interface communication channels• Ending processes on the legacy system and transitioning to the MMIS• Validating interfaces for production• Implementing support processes associated with production monitoring; emergency maintenance; andcomputer and data resource management• Updating system documentation to reflect the production systemThe development of the implementation checklist is a collaborative process with Team Noridian workingwith the Department, IME contractors and other key stakeholders to ensure all necessary activities areidentified and monitored throughout the implementation task. Team Noridian leverages theimplementation checklist to facilitate a review of operational readiness at defined checkpoint meetings.The checkpoint meetings are held at defined milestones, which are 30-days, 60-days, and 90-days prior toimplementation. These meetings are designed to ensure coordination and communication occurs acrossthe project to support a successful deployment and transition to operations. They also offer an opportunityfor risks to be reviewed and mitigated.In general, all activities are grouped into four categories, namely system readiness (tracked based on UATprogress and documentation readiness), contractor staff readiness to support operations (ensuring thatTeam Noridian has all the required staff in place and trained if needed to support operations), IME staffreadiness (this includes Department and other IME staff who must be adequately trained to use the newMMIS prior to go-live), and provider readiness (which will be ensured by the Provider Servicescontractor with support from Team Noridian).8 | 179