ServiceNow vs Content Management/Data Courier for Epic EHR changes

[Blue]

Hello all, looking for learning from those that are experts on creating efficiency for EPIC. I have some questions about Epic CM and data courier.

1. Does CM allow for clarity and notification for the Epic build teams to receive the tasks for move and testing the teams rely on? The request is we build a complex flow with logic in ServiceNow to allow the build teams to track the builds through the lower environments. Have you all built that flow in ServiceNow?

2. We have a legacy very complex logic built in ServiceNow for Master file approvals which I would like to eliminate as there is a lot of overhead in ServiceNow to maintain it. What is best evidence on how to manage that master file approval in ServiceNow but remove the complex approval logic down to each master file? Some of the complaint is that the "owner" of an INI is not the same team doing the build in the application being impacted thus the approval is more of a roadblock. I am not clear on what the right way is with this?

3. The Epic team is uploading a large amount of documentation, spreadsheets, etc into ServiceNow for each and every change which feels like a security blanket more than producing actual value.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[BrianNuernberg]

I'll add my thoughts in bold. 

1. Does CM allow for clarity and notification for the Epic build teams to receive the tasks for move and testing the teams rely on? The request is we build a complex flow with logic in ServiceNow to allow the build teams to track the builds through the lower environments. Have you all built that flow in ServiceNow?

CM does not capture testing information.  It can capture all the build needed for documentation in a change though and allow you to track thru the production stream.  Its very possibly to integrate ServiceNow and Epic to pull in CM tickets and track that flow.  This is a high level of customization.  You can then generate tasks automatically depending on what stage your change is in, pulling in those CM tickets to the task, allowing your DC teams to move build effortlessly.   A side benefit to this, it allows you to track build within ServiceNow if you build it out correctly. 

2. We have a legacy very complex logic built in ServiceNow for Master file approvals which I would like to eliminate as there is a lot of overhead in ServiceNow to maintain it. What is best evidence on how to manage that master file approval in ServiceNow but remove the complex approval logic down to each master file? Some of the complaint is that the "owner" of an INI is not the same team doing the build in the application being impacted thus the approval is more of a roadblock. I am not clear on what the right way is with this?

I don't know that there is a right or a wrong way for this.  I think some organizations would be appreciative of that automated approval as it would lessen some back and forth.   Epic always provided a recommended Masterfile owner file, but those tend to morph dramatically post go live, so i can understand that overhead is large.. 

3. The Epic team is uploading a large amount of documentation, spreadsheets, etc into ServiceNow for each and every change which feels like a security blanket more than producing actual value.

I would agree.. most Epic teams cling to those old processes from initial go live.  At some point you will have to evaluate and see if there is value in continuing on, or if they serve as a bottleneck. 

[Danielle Rodrig]

Hi Brian,

Lots of great information. I had a question f around how you all are capturing approvals for Normal changes. We just transitioned from using QuickBase for Change Management to ServiceNow. We did this by setting up an integration between Epic and ServiceNow that allows the CM ticket information to be pulled into the ticket. Similar, but not identical to what was shown in the K21 ppt.

We are searching for a way for analyst to capture the technical owners approval from the owning application team prior to CAB to allow us to focus more on risk assessment and discussion of the change rather than the approvals themselves. Ownership is defined by the Masterfile Ownership toolkit, which we are updating to reflect our organizations Epic teams and ownership. Ideally, we would like to automate this through ServiceNow, and would like to know if you or anyone has found a successful way of completing this. 

[psatkhn]

My Interface architect was able to pull the majority of the required data sets through a REST API. However, when he reached out to Epic to troubleshoot a permission issue, we were informed that Epic will only allow interfaces through third parties that are part of the Epic Vendor Services program.  ServiceNow has started the application for this service, but I have yet to find any updates from ServiceNow on their inclusion within the Epic Vendor Services.