Software & apps · Planning worksheet

Dashboard comparisons: avoid misleading changes

Illustrative situation

A chart rises after a new clinic opens, but readers interpret the increase as better performance at existing sites.

The decision

Annotate changes in service scope, definitions and source coverage. Compare consistent groups where possible and explain when a like-for-like comparison is unavailable.

Rehearse this before accepting the change

Add a fictional new location; verify that the comparison explains the changed population.

Use fictional examples and an authorised test environment. Record what happened, the evidence you inspected and any issue that still needs a responsible owner.

Choose a useful measure

Track unexplained discontinuities in reported trends.

Agree the definition and baseline with the team doing the work. Review the result over a comparable period and note other changes that could affect it.

Healthcare software workflow connecting task cards, a checklist and a database.
Map the work and the information it depends on.
Healthcare software testing with normal paths and a separate exception route.
Test the exceptions as well as the normal workflow.
Healthcare software handover with a code folder, configuration controls, key and maintenance notebook.
Agree ownership, configuration and ongoing maintenance.

Your planning worksheet

Use these checks to prepare a discussion with your team or supplier. Tick a check when you have recorded the decision or evidence, rather than when a feature has simply been promised.

Decisions to record

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Further reading

These primary sources provide additional context for the project decisions above.

Related decisions

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