Title
Assignment 3a: From Strategy to Architecture
Type HIT Architecture Design Drawing suitable for presentation
Description For this assignment, you will prepare an IT systems architecture drawing that relates to a defined hypothetical HIT strategy.
The hypothetical HIT strategy is: “The ABC Physician’s offices will collect, utilize, and maintain confidential customer health information into
electronic medical records using secure cloud-based servers, while ensuring compliance with all US federal regulatory requirements”. Assume that
the ABC Physician’s office has 3 physical office locations with 9 practicing doctors/nurse practitioners that serve approximately 2,500 patients
with more than 5 terabytes of digital electronic medical records.
Steps 1. Read Pearlson and Saunders (2013), Chapter 6, paying particular attention to pp.169-171. Figure 6.2 is a very basic example of
how one might present a strategy-to-architecture drawing.
2. Search the Internet using Google or some other search engine to see example images of how IT system architectures are presented.
3. There is no prescriptive way to prepare your system architecture drawing. Choose your own graphical depiction method – you can use
icons, or simple boxes. You can choose whether or not to use arrows, and/or labels above lines that connect icons or boxes.
1. Prepare a drawing of an architecture that describes the organization outlined in the Assignment Description.
2. You can use a computer program such as word PDF , etc, or you can hand draw it and use your cell phone camera to take a picture, and post
it.
3. Your delivered file type can be either a JPG or a PDF format, so it is readable by anyone else in the class.
4. Your drawing should fit onto a single 8.5×11 page.
5. Your drawing must be readable and legible. However, you should be more concerned with completeness and accuracy (see grading elements
below) than with fancy or pretty graphics..
Title
Assignment 3b: The Desktop/Network Image
Type Discussion posting of image and description.
Description For this assignment, you will take a photo or image of a desktop or network device, and describe in 250 words ,how it fits into
the HIT architecture that you presented in Assignment 3A.
Steps 1. Take a photo or capture an image of a computing resource (e.g. a phone, tablet, desktop, laptop, etc) or a network resource (a
switch, a hub, router, etc).
2. Include an accompanying 250 word (minimum) description of the imaged resource as it relates to the hypothetical system architecture you
described in Assignment 3A. Address the following in your description: (a) summary of function; (b) how critical is the device in the
architecture, e.g. if it fails, will the system go down? (c) after what period of time would you anticipate the device to need replacement,
either for failure or for replacement by a next generation device. For instance, you may present an image of a Cisco network switch, and your
summary of function might be similar to this: “This Cisco XYZ core switch is used to connect the ABC Physician Center City office location
administrative workgroup switch to the other core switches that connect with the imagery CAT scan network so that patients can be provided with
a hard copy of their scan imagery when so requested.”.
