"Gregory J. Woodhouse" wrote:
>
> On Fri, 31 Dec 1999, John S. Gage wrote:
>
> > There is a philosophy ... that major software applications ...were
> > written without much in the way of specifications and, second, that that
> > is the way to do things. I do not advocate this.
>
> Part of the problem is that many of us know what an operating system is
> and what a web server is, but EMR systems are another matter. In addition,
> most of have enough experience with EMR systems tht we could do a fairly
> decent job with much of it, but I ... I don't have the expertise to design this kind
> of software on my own. ... We need to find a way to bring our various
> specialties together in developing a design, and then implementing that design.
>
This resonates with me. I know what on OS is, and what a web server is, and
what EMR systems try to be; but I am not a real hacker, I am a physician.
I have had a long interest in the ergonomics of the medical office, including
both manual and intellectual work tasks. I could, if it seemed worth the
time, write operational specifications for software (end-user) functionality
so that the user interfaces would comfortable and usable. But my technical
knowledge of database, interfacing, and data exchange is deficient.
And it's personally daunting to look in on these erudite technical discussions,
to view the knowledge and experience that each of you brings. Maybe others
on this list feel as inadequate as we about our "incompleteness."
Perhaps our first important documentation is a personnel-resource page that
lists and coordinates the experience, knowledge, interests, and possible
time commitment of those who want to participate in design (as distinct from
chat).
Merry Millenium to all!
Danl Johnson
