Checklist
HL7 interface pre-build checklist
Nothing gets estimated until every line has an answer. Twenty-one lines.
Interface projects do not usually fail on the interface. They fail because the mapping document lived in a contractor’s head, or because nobody decided what happens at 2am when a message fails.
Every line here exists because I have watched its absence cost somebody a quarter.
HL7 INTERFACE PRE-BUILD CHECKLIST Nothing gets estimated until every line has an answer. SCOPE [ ] Which message types, exactly? (ADT A01/A04/A08, ORM O01, ORU R01, SIU S12...) [ ] Which direction does each one travel? [ ] Which segments and fields are actually in scope? [ ] What is explicitly out of scope? MAPPING [ ] Field-by-field mapping document exists and is version-controlled [ ] Every code set translation is written down (not "the vendor knows") [ ] Edge cases named: cancellations, merges, corrections, duplicates [ ] Who owns this document after go-live? FAILURE [ ] What happens when a message fails validation? [ ] Who is alerted, and how fast? [ ] Is the fix a queue replay or a data-entry weekend? [ ] How long are messages retained for replay? ENVIRONMENT [ ] Test system with realistic volume, not three sample messages [ ] Cutover plan, and the rollback that goes with it [ ] Who is awake at 2am on go-live night? COMPLIANCE [ ] PHI encrypted in transit and at rest [ ] Audit logging on every message [ ] BAA in place with every party that touches the pipe