Assessing the technology and market readiness level of a software system - an analysis based on AMPEL

With the growing number of patients with more than one disease and a work intensification in hospitals, including hundreds of biomarkers, the work of clinicians is getting more complex. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) can help to keep the overview and to make better decisions based on data. One of these systems is AMPEL, developed at the University Medical Center Leipzig. In order to support the development and the launch of an innovative software system, the Technology Readiness Level and Market Readiness Level framework (T-RL/M-RL framework) can be used. However, as this framework has only been used for physical products, this thesis modifies them so that they are applicable for software products as well. The research showed that especially for research projects like AMPEL, the T-RL is high, but the M-RL needs more focus. Moreover, the thesis also looked at ethical criteria, since this aspect is getting more important for software development. Additionally, expert interviews revealed factors concerning the ease-of-use and usefulness of CDSSs. These factors are directly related to the technology acceptance. Specifically, if a CDSS offers the ability to highlight unexpected results and motivates the clinician for additional thinking, the system not only reaches a higher user acceptance but is also from great importance for the patient safety and treatment quality. The thesis also provides insights into the decision criteria of the buying process of software systems in hospitals. The total number of 28 different criteria in seven categories shows the complexity of purchasing processes in hospitals and help suppliers develop their software according to these.