Facts finding and techniques
Fact-finding techniques are methods used to gather information for understanding system
requirements, especially in projects like a Hospital Management System. These techniques help you
identify what the system should do, who will use it, and how it will operate.
Here are the most commonly used fact-finding techniques:
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1. Interviews
Description: One-on-one conversations with stakeholders (doctors, nurses, patients, admins) to gather
detailed insights.
Advantages: Rich, in-depth data.
Disadvantages: Time-consuming.
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2. Questionnaires/Surveys
Description: Distributing structured questions to a large group to collect specific data.
Advantages: Reaches many people quickly.
Disadvantages: Responses may be superficial.
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3. Observation
Description: Watching how users interact with the current system in real-time.
Advantages: Helps identify issues users may not mention.
Disadvantages: Can be intrusive or time-consuming.
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4. Document Review
Description: Analyzing existing documents, reports, forms, or databases related to hospital operations.
Advantages: Reveals current system procedures and problems.
Disadvantages: Documents may be outdated.
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5. Joint Application Development (JAD) Sessions
Description: Structured meetings involving stakeholders and system analysts to collaboratively gather
requirements.
Advantages: Fast consensus-building.
Disadvantages: Requires scheduling and commitment from all parties.
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6. Prototyping
Description: Building a sample version of the system to get feedback from users.
Advantages: Helps refine requirements early.
Disadvantages: May give false expectations about the final product.
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7. Brainstorming
Description: Group discussion to generate ideas and solutions.
Advantages: Encourages creativity and diverse input.
Disadvantages: Can go off-topic without proper moderation.
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Would you like a table or diagram summarizing these techniques for your project documentation?
Data requirements
Here are the data requirements for a Hospital Management System (HMS) project. These specify the
types of data the system must collect, store, and manage to function effectively.
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1. Patient Data
Full Name
Date of Birth
Gender
Contact Information (phone, email)
Address
Emergency Contact
Medical History
Current Medical Condition
Insurance Details (if applicable)
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2. Doctor Data
Full Name
Specialization
Contact Information
Department
Working Hours/Availability
Qualifications & Experience
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3. Appointment Data
Appointment ID
Patient ID (linked)
Doctor ID (linked)
Appointment Date and Time
Reason for Visit
Status (Scheduled, Completed, Cancelled)
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4. Medical Records
Record ID
Patient ID (linked)
Doctor ID (linked)
Date of Visit
Diagnosis
Treatment Provided
Prescriptions
Test Results
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5. Billing Data
Bill ID
Patient ID
Appointment ID (linked)
Services Provided
Total Amount
Paid Amount
Payment Method
Billing Date
Payment Status
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6. Staff Data
Staff ID
Name
Role (Nurse, Technician, Receptionist, etc.)
Department
Contact Info
Work Schedule
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7. Department Data
Department ID
Department Name
Head of Department
Location within Hospital
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8. Room/Bed Management
Room Number
Room Type (ICU, General, Private)
Occupancy Status
Assigned Patient ID
Admission and Discharge Dates
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9. Inventory/Pharmacy Data (optional but useful)
Medicine Name
Stock Quantity
Expiry Date
Supplier Info
Price per Unit
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Would you like these formatted for a documentation section or want help turning them into SQL table
structures?
Design user view app
Here’s a basic User Interface (UI) Design concept for a Hospital Management System (HMS) — showing
how the application could look for different users like Admin, Doctor, Patient, and Staff. This will guide
your front-end development or mockup creation.
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1. Main User Roles & Dashboards:
a. Admin Dashboard
Features:
Manage Users (Doctors, Staff, Patients)
Appointments Overview
Billing Reports
Department Management
Room Allocation
Inventory Monitoring
Design Elements:
Sidebar menu with icons
Widgets showing:
Total patients today
Available rooms
Pending bills
Buttons: Add User, Generate Report
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b. Doctor Dashboard
Features:
View Today’s Appointments
Access Patient Medical Records
Write Diagnosis/Prescription
Request Tests or Lab Reports
Schedule Follow-ups
Design Elements:
Calendar View for Appointments
Patient Search bar
Tabs: Appointments, Medical Records, Prescriptions
Quick Action Buttons: Start Consultation, Upload Report
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c. Patient Portal
Features:
Book/View Appointments
View Prescriptions and Diagnosis
Pay Bills
Update Profile
Contact Doctor or Support
Design Elements:
Welcome Card with user name
Upcoming Appointments Card
Billing Summary Widget
Navigation Tabs: My Appointments, My Bills, My Records
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d. Staff Interface
Features:
View Daily Task List
Update Room/Bed Status
Admit/Discharge Patients
Support Admin Tasks
Design Elements:
Task Tracker List
Bed Availability Chart
Notifications Panel
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2. Common UI Components
Login Page: Role-based access with username/password
Navigation Menu: Sticky side or top navbar
Forms: For adding patients, scheduling appointments, entering billing info
Tables: For appointment lists, billing records, room assignments
Modals/Popups: For quick edits or confirmations
Search Bars: For quickly finding patient/doctor data
Responsive Design: Works on both desktop and tablet
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3. Example Tools for UI Design:
Figma (for mockups)
Adobe XD
HTML/CSS + Bootstrap or Tailwind (for prototypes)
ReactJS or Angular (for dynamic front-end)
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Would you like me to generate a visual wireframe/mockup for one of these user views (e.g., Doctor
Dashboard or Patient Portal)?
Design security mechanisms
Designing security mechanisms for a Hospital Management System (HMS) is crucial because the system
handles sensitive patient data and critical hospital operations. Below is a breakdown of the
recommended security measures, categorized by layers:
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1. Authentication & Authorization
User Login: Role-based login system for Admin, Doctor, Patient, and Staff.
Strong Password Policy: Enforce minimum length, complexity, and periodic changes.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Extra layer of security using OTP or email/SMS verification.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Limit access to data and features based on the user's role.
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2. Data Security
Encryption:
In Transit: Use HTTPS/SSL to secure data during transmission.
At Rest: Encrypt sensitive fields (e.g., medical history, billing info) in the database.
Database Access Control:
Limit access to the database using user privileges.
Use parameterized queries or ORM to prevent SQL Injection.
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3. Application Security
Input Validation: Sanitize all user inputs to prevent XSS and injection attacks.
Session Management:
Auto-logout after inactivity.
Secure cookies with HttpOnly and Secure flags.
Audit Logging:
Record who accessed/modified data and when.
Monitor for suspicious activities.
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4. Infrastructure & Network Security
Firewalls: Protect internal servers from external threats.
VPN Access: For remote hospital staff or administrators.
Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Monitor unusual behavior and trigger alerts.
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5. Backup & Recovery
Regular Backups: Automatically backup data to secure cloud or off-site storage.
Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP): Ensure the system can be restored quickly after a failure or breach.
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6. Compliance & Legal
HIPAA (for US), GDPR (for EU), or local data privacy laws:
Inform patients about data usage.
Allow them to opt-out or request data deletion (if required).
Data Retention Policies: Keep patient records for required periods only.
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7. User Awareness & Policies
Security Training: Educate staff on phishing, password hygiene, and data privacy.
Access Policy: Define who can do what and document it clearly.
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Would you like this formatted as part of your project report or expanded into a system architecture
diagram with security zones?
Consider the rolled
Great! Introducing controlled redundancy in your Hospital Management System (HMS) database design
can improve performance, reliability, and availability — but it must be done carefully to avoid data
inconsistency.
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What is Controlled Redundancy?
It means intentionally duplicating certain data in a controlled and managed way to speed up access or
support backup/recovery needs, while still keeping data integrity under control.
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Where to Apply Controlled Redundancy in HMS:
1. Patient Contact Info in Multiple Tables
Example: Storing patient name and phone in both Patients and Appointments tables.
Why: Avoids extra joins when fetching appointment schedules.
Control Mechanism: Use triggers or stored procedures to sync data on update.
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2. Doctor Info in Medical Records
Example: Store doctor name in the MedicalRecords table along with the DoctorID.
Why: Ensures historical accuracy even if the doctor's info changes later.
Control Mechanism: Do not update the doctor name in medical records — treat as archived.
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3. Caching Frequently Accessed Data
Example: A summary table for daily appointments or bed availability.
Why: Improves performance of dashboard displays.
Control Mechanism: Auto-refresh the cache via scheduled jobs or triggers.
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4. Backups/Shadow Tables
Example: Create a redundant copy of the Billing table for audits.
Why: Supports secure backup and rollback in case of failure.
Control Mechanism: Make it read-only and update only through controlled transactions.
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Benefits of Controlled Redundancy:
Faster query performance
Less frequent joins
Better historical tracking
Supports reporting and auditing
Useful for offline/backup systems
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Risks (and how to manage):
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Would you like a few SQL trigger examples to demonstrate how to manage controlled redundancy, or
include this in your project documentation?
Monitor and tune the operational
Monitoring and tuning your Hospital Management System (HMS) is essential for maintaining high
performance, reliability, and availability as the system grows. Here’s how you can monitor and optimize
your operational system:
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1. Performance Monitoring
a. Database Monitoring
Track Query Performance: Identify slow queries using EXPLAIN or database logs.
Monitor Index Usage: Use indexing wisely on frequently searched columns like PatientID, DoctorID,
AppointmentDate.
Connection Pooling: Monitor active connections to avoid overload.
b. Application Monitoring
Use APM Tools: Tools like New Relic, Datadog, or Prometheus to monitor:
Response time
Error rates
API usage
Load Monitoring: Track system load and identify peak hours for planning upgrades.
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2. System Tuning Techniques
a. Database Tuning
Optimize SQL Queries: Rewrite or refactor complex joins or subqueries.
Partition Large Tables: For example, split MedicalRecords by year or department.
Use Caching: Cache frequent reads like doctor lists or available rooms.
b. Application Layer Tuning
Reduce Backend Calls: Group data requests where possible.
Asynchronous Processing: Use background jobs for non-urgent tasks (like sending emails).
Compress Responses: Use gzip to reduce data transfer size.
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3. Logging & Alerts
Error Logs: Store app and database logs in a centralized logging system (e.g., ELK Stack).
Health Checks: Monitor endpoints and database availability.
Alerts: Set up alerts for:
High CPU/RAM usage
Slow query performance
Failed logins or suspicious activities
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4. Backup & Recovery Monitoring
Verify Backup Jobs: Ensure daily/weekly backups complete successfully.
Test Restores: Regularly test restoring from backups to verify data integrity.
Monitor Storage Usage: Ensure you don't run out of space.
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5. Security Monitoring
Track Login Attempts: Look for brute-force or unauthorized access attempts.
Audit Logs: Record who accessed or modified sensitive data.
Patch Updates: Regularly monitor and apply security patches to the server and software.
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6. Capacity Planning
Forecast Growth: Monitor patient, appointment, and billing record growth to anticipate system load.
Scalability Testing: Simulate high user load (using tools like JMeter) to prepare for future expansion.
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Would you like to include a sample monitoring checklist or toolset summary for documentation or
presentation?
Summary
The Hospital Management System (HMS) project aimed to design a robust and efficient database to
streamline hospital operations such as managing patient records, appointments, billing, and staff
coordination. The project involved identifying core entities like Patients, Doctors, Appointments,
Medical Records, and Billing, and designing a normalized database schema that maintains data integrity
while supporting real-time operations.
We explored various fact-finding techniques such as interviews, observations, and document analysis to
understand the user requirements. Data requirements were clearly defined for each module, and we
proposed a role-based user interface design to enhance usability for doctors, patients, and staff.
Security mechanisms like authentication, encryption, and role-based access control were integrated to
ensure the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data. Controlled redundancy was introduced to
improve system performance without compromising data consistency. The operational system was
equipped with monitoring and tuning practices to ensure ongoing efficiency and scalability.
Conclusion
The successful design of the Hospital Management System provides a strong foundation for automating
hospital workflows, improving patient care, and supporting administrative decision-making. With a
secure, scalable, and user-friendly architecture, the system ensures smooth operation and long-term
adaptability.
This project highlights the importance of proper planning, data modeling, and system optimization in
building critical real-world applications. Future work may include full implementation, integration with
IoT or mobile apps, and advanced analytics for hospital performance and patient outcomes.
