Project Management, System Implementation

The Client

Headquartered in Boise, the State of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare maintains seven regional offices, as well as many field offices. The department has 7 divisions with over 3,000 employees and an annual budget close to $1.7 billion.

The Challenge

In 1994, the Idaho Department of Health received funding to implement a new Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS). The agency issued a Request for Proposal (RFP), inviting bids for the job of helping the state select and monitor the MMIS contractor. BearingPoint won the bid due to its expertise with similar implementations in other states.

The Solution

From the beginning, BearingPoint helped the Department of Health and Welfare manage their MMIS project, track and review deliverables, and resolve vendor issues. We provided the following mission-critical assistance to the state.

• 1994: Wrote the RFP to vendors for designing, building, and implementing Idaho’s MMIS.
• 1996: Resolved issues that halted the project, including scope complications and vendor communication problems.
• 1998: Prepared the Department of Health and Welfare for MMIS certification.

BearingPoint also measured the progress of the project on a weekly basis, preparing graphs and reports for status meetings with the vendor.

The Benefits

BearingPoint’s biggest contribution to this project was setting up a measured project management approach. We worked closely with the DOR to eliminate scope problems and determine what was contractually necessary from the vendor. To consolidate recommendations to the vendor, we reviewed deliverables independent of the state. In addition, we were given the role of project monitor to assist the in-house project manager with weekly reports. Our team approach to scrutiny and feedback on the contractor’s deliverables were major factors in managing this project. We turned a troubled project around and made it a success with our proven measurement tools and methods.
View/Download the State of Idaho - Department of Health and Welfare case study (24 KB)