Healthcare Modelling through Role Activity Diagrams for Process-Based Information Systems Development

The aim of this paper is to introduce the socio-technical Role Activity Diagram modelling language to National Health Service (NHS) information systems requirements engineering using a process approach. Most requirements engineering in the NHS is done using data-driven methods such as data flow diagrams. Role Activity Diagrams provide not only a socio-technical method for analysing a particular systems development problem, but they also offer a process-based approach for capturing workflows and their associated information flows, and facilitate communication between analysts and users in an intuitive fashion. In particular, they elicit the important roles in a process and the interaction and collaboration required to achieve the goals of the process. The process approach has been applied in business information systems development. It is introduced here as a potential for systems development in the NHS.