The FDA regulates software for medical devices, and may in future regulate mobile medical software as well. Can you speed up time to market with Agile development in an FDA regulated medical environment?
Pathfinder Software shares their experience developing software using lean ux and agile software development best practices for medical devices and mobile medical software.
Agile Development for FDA Regulated Medical Software
1. Agile for Medical Software:
Better Results Faster in FDA
Regulated Environments
April 26, 2011
Michael Walkden
Tavi Scandiff-Pirvu
Agile for Medical Software
2. • FDA is not the bad guy
• FDA is not your customer
• FDA is about ensuring safety and sustaining
life
• Protects us from focusing only on profits
Agile for Medical Software
3. Its not what you wear...
Its how you wear it
Agile for Medical Software
18. Formal Process: Final Verdict
Dear FDA,
We will perform these ‘11’ Formal steps
each and everyday to ensure that nothing is
left to chance.
-The Formal Group
Agile for Medical Software
19. Formal Process: The Response
Dear Formal Group,
Great!
You have defined your 11 Formal
steps now go forth and DO IT!
-FDA
Agile for Medical Software
28. Casual Process: Final Verdict
Dear FDA,
We will perform these ‘7’ Casual steps each
and everyday to ensure that nothing is left
to chance.
-Casual Collab
Agile for Medical Software
29. Formal Process: The Response
Dear Casual Collab,
Great!
You have defined your 7 Casual
steps now go forth and DO IT!
-FDA
Agile for Medical Software
45. In the end it’s
not the product but the
process that is the concern!
Agile for Medical Software
46. • FDA = Authoritative QA
• They are interested in sticking to a plan
• FDA lets you set rules to follow
• Need to know your team/client/
environment/product
Agile for Medical Software
51. Class I
• Not intended to support life
• Least regulatory controls
• 74% of devices are exempt from pre-
market approval
• Often a few pages of documentation will
suffice to pass pre-market approval
Agile for Medical Software
52. Class II
• General commercial quality control and
manufacturing practices alone may not be
sufficient to assure safety
• Existing methods are in place to prove safety
• Project is characterized by significant
documentation and process compared to a
“normal” Agile project
Agile for Medical Software
53. Class III
• General commercial quality control and
manufacturing practices alone may not be
sufficient to assure safety
• Project is possibly R&D, but will still require
significant documentation and process
compared to a “normal” Agile project
Agile for Medical Software
55. • In general agile is not new. It is collection
of good software practices evolved over
years of experience.
Agile for Medical Software
56. • Individuals and interactions over
processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive
documentation
• Customer collaboration over
contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following
a plan
Agile for Medical Software
57. Agile Myths
• Agile is Working • Simply iterations
Without Documentation
• One specific
methodology • “Glorified hacking”
• A “One Size Fits All” • Working without a plan
cookbook
Agile for Medical Software
58. • Focus on activities that add value
• Collaborative
• Transparent
• Adaptable
• Simple
• User engagement
• Continuous Improvement
Agile for Medical Software
60. • FDA isn’t necessarily interested in waterfall
• Longer Project Inception due to documentation
of project history
• Longer ramp-up time than a traditional Agile
project
• team must understand more process and
bigger picture early on
• Faster software delivery than a traditional FDA
project
Agile for Medical Software
62. What we know works
(Pathfinder’s Process)
Agile for Medical Software
63. Know Your Product -> Process -> Production
User Needs
+ Business
Goals
User Stories
(Maser Story
List)
Software
Software
Requirements
Project
Specification
Schedule
Software Verification &
Validation Plan
(code review, unit testing,
functional testing)
Software
Design History
Development Software File (DHF)
Checklist Architecture
Document
Inception
!"
Test Cases
Fully Authored
User Stories
Dev. Code
(code review)
SVV Protocol
Testing
Final SVV Test
Report
SVV Test
Report
Development
Agile for Medical Software
64. Know Your Product -> Process -> Production
User Needs
+ Business
Goals
User Stories
(Maser Story
List)
Software
Project
Schedule
Software
Development
Checklist
Agile for Medical Software
65. Know Your Product -> Process -> Production
Software
Requirements
Specification
Software Verification &
Validation Plan
(code review, unit testing,
functional testing)
Software
Architecture
Document
Inception
Agile for Medical Software
66. Know Your Product -> Process -> Production
!"
Test Cases
Fully Authored
User Stories
Dev. Code
(code review)
SVV Protocol
Testing
Final SVV Test
Report
SVV Test
Report
Development
Agile for Medical Software
67. Know Your Product -> Process -> Production
Design History
File (DHF)
Agile for Medical Software
68. Know Your Product -> Process -> Production
User Needs
+ Business
Goals
User Stories
(Maser Story
List)
Software
Software
Requirements
Project
Specification
Schedule
Software Verification &
Validation Plan
(code review, unit testing,
functional testing)
Software
Design History
Development Software File (DHF)
Checklist Architecture
Document
Inception
!"
Test Cases
Fully Authored
User Stories
Dev. Code
(code review)
SVV Protocol
Testing
Final SVV Test
Report
SVV Test
Report
Development
Agile for Medical Software