Re: [Gnumed-devel] GNUmed alternative development model

[J Busser]

(self-replying and copying the list, which I did not originally do)

My original reply asked about requirements and also

> > ... every use-case requires work  to fully develop &
> > examine etc. So how far do we "spend" ourselves, and how do
> > we do so smartly? What is it that should *guide* this exercise? Maybe
> > some use-cases are more strategically-useful to develop. For example,
> > use-cases that would represent
> > - the biggest technical challenges, and hence the most
> > careful selection of engineering tools and approaches
> > - doing something that existing EMRs cannot yet do
> > (ideally, we would be farthest ahead to identify important things that
> > existing systems would have the *hardest* time to catch
> > up)
> > - the best opportunity to leverage open source (or at
> > least interoperable) pieces or systems so as to give us a jump-start,
> > or just
> > - the use-cases most critical to getting a limited
> > "starter group" of users, to actually use
> > GNUmed

Should a priority among use cases be for what is already roadmapped, so we can better understand, verify and communicate the design that could be most appropriate?

Is an inventory of use cases  (.xmi files) meant to be manageable inside something like CVS or Subversion? If that risks being too complex (or to create a barrier for "basic" users) we can determine whether including them as attachments on the wiki will work.

What "combining value" will the UML'd use cases (.xmi files) have, other than through manual processing? Do the tools permit multiple use cases (whether inside one document or separately) to be organized, and put into related groups? Do the same tools then help to decide which objects (classes) need to be diagrammed, and does this happen from "scratch" or does it somehow use any dictionary of items from use cases? Is there a mapping function to track which use cases employ (or depend on) which classes?

I have available a spreadsheet developed by my health region --- which I understand I can share --- listing 1500 functional requirements for EMR software to support 10 clinics from a single central server or asp model. That can be consulted for reference at any point that people should think that useful.

PS on use cases, I am reading with interest some links (reached indirectly from www.uml.org) at

        http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_uml.html#oo_uml_utilities_tools