Vicky Smith
Managing Editor
@pinkwritinglady
Progress is underway for students creating a searchable data application for Comanche County Memorial Hospital (CCMH), as part of a spring interdisciplinary class.
The class is a combination of Information Technology (IT) Capstone, Computer Science (CS) Capstone, Multimedia (MM) Capstone and an internship with the English department.
The professors, who include Dave Smith, CEO; Dr. Chao Zhao, Chief Information Officer (CIO); Dr. Abbas Johari, Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO); and Dr. William Carney, Chief Data Officer (CDO), run the class as though it is a software company.
Johari said the students are on schedule in the process of completing the project.
“Students are cooperating, learning and are challenged,” Johari said. “[They] bring work as a group on time and pay attention to the due dates.”
At the beginning of the semester, Smith chose two students to be the project leaders: senior IT majors Jenny Dodson and Kathryn Evans.
Dodson, the lead of Team Dodson, said on Feb. 11, they had their first In-Progress Review, where they discussed the progress made and created a name for the system, which is Bone and Implant Tracking System (B.I.T.S).
“We presented what we’ve done,” Dodson said, “including the data-flow diagrams and entity relationship diagrams that the Database team completed, the use-case diagram that the Computer Science team completed and the website mock-up that the Multimedia team completed.”
“The Security team has been setting up testing computers and tools, as well as working on security policies for the system. The tech writer has been checking all work that has been and will be presented to the client for spelling, grammatical and diction errors.”
Dodson said her major role has been documenting the progress they have made.
“[I’m] delegating tasks, making sure that all teams are completing their work on time, communicating and visiting with the client and making sure everything is running smoothly,” she said. “This goes for the other team, Team Evans, as well.”
Dodson said although the workload of the project has been heavy and fast-paced, the work environment has been extremely positive.
“Once we complete one thing, there is another few waiting for us,” she said. “Luckily, if any of us needs help, there is always someone who is willing to help, even if they are on the other team.”
Evans said the students not only meet twice a week regularly for two hours, totaling four hours a week, but they also work together outside of the designated meeting times.
Because the students will receive college credits for the work they do, they will not be financially compensated; however, Evans said they are documenting how many hours each student works.
“We’re keeping track of how much this is going to ‘cost’ Mr. Smith,” she said. “He wants to be able to show the client at the end, saying ‘This is how long we worked. This is how much money it would cost.’”
According to Dodson, the work experience that she and the other students are gaining is more beneficial to them than they know.
“[I] look forward to members of both teams walking out of that class with the skills and confidence they need for the real-world,” she said.
Evans agreed, saying she enjoys completing a project that is not solely out of a textbook.
“It’s actually going to be used,” she said, “and I think that’s the coolest part.”
Dodson said she also looks forward to giving the completed project to the client, CCMH, whom she believes is deserving of all the effort the students have contributed.
“They have done so much for our community,” she said, “so it feels great to know that we are doing something that helps them for a change.”