PCC Profile Deprecation Process

Overview

From time to time IHE Profiles (and National Extensions) may need to be deprecated for one reason or another. As there is no formal IHE process for this each domain is free to determine what actions need to be taken in order to deprecate a profile in their domain. This page outlines the process for PCC.

In order to deprecate a profile, an assessment must be performed to determine the community impact of the deprecation. If this assessment is not performed then there could be negative impact, causing disruption in interoperability implementations as vendors, policy-makers, and other stakeholders may decide to cease support for a profile based on deprecation status.

Defining Deprecation

Deprecation is/means:

• The retiring of an IHE Profile with supporting rationale
• That IHE will no longer provide updates to or support for the Profile
• Complete when the process outlined on this page is followed
• ??

Deprecation is not/does not:

• Prevent implementers from continuing to use the Profile
• ??

Process

Following are a list of questions to ask, and suggested actions to take.

1. What is the rationale behind deprecating the Profile?
   • Provide specifics as to the need to remove the Profile from publication and for IHE to no longer provide support
2. What are the adoption levels of the profile to be deprecated?
   • Review Connectathon Test Results page.
   • Review IHE Product Registry database.
   • If appropriate, survey implementers to confirm actual usage in pilot and/or production settings.
3. Is the profile being deprecated being replaced by a new profile?
   • If yes, which profile, and what actors, transactions, options, etc. are being used in the new profile?
4. What dependencies exist for the Profile being deprecated?
   • Are there any required Profile Groupings?
   • Are there any dependencies TO other IHE Profiles?
   • Are there any dependencies FROM other IHE Profiles?
5. Who needs to be notified about deprecating the profile?
   • Consider implementers and stakeholders, other IHE Domains, any government organizations

Questions and Discussion

1. Where should answers to the above questions be documented? On the wiki? In a Google document? Elsewhere?
2. Should we specify a time limit for deprecation? i.e. a profile will remain in deprecated state for a period of 6 months, and then be removed from the wiki, ihe.net website, etc.