Technology · guide

Map your practice technology stack

Start with the work your practice does, then connect it to the tools, people, data types, integrations, and costs it depends on. Add the evidence you've checked and the fallback for each workflow. Leave unanswered questions visible; the map isn't a readiness score.

Start the guide

Understand the work

Before the checklist

What this guide helps you do

You buy one tool to solve one problem, then another for something else. Eventually, you may be paying for overlapping features while staff still copy information between systems. Map the work and the tools together to see what's really happening.

If you are starting a practice

Map the workflows you expect before naming products. This keeps the first vendor you discover from quietly becoming the design of your practice.

If you already run a practice

Check invoices, account lists, and integration settings, then ask staff what they actually use. Include spreadsheets and manual workarounds, even if they aren't on the official software list.

An example of the resultA one-page diagram and list connect each workflow to its tools. They show who manages each system, who uses it, broad data types, integrations, capabilities supported by the sources you checked, costs, fallback, export options, and open questions.

Start here

Before you start

Map workflows before products.
Show integrations, manual handoffs, overlap, and exit dependencies.
Keep credentials, client information, and unverified compliance claims out of the map.

Make sure this fits

Use this to create a non-sensitive operating view of current or planned practice technology and its workflow dependencies.

Pause when

The map would be treated as a security assessment, privacy analysis, compliance determination, technical architecture certification, or complete data inventory.

Gather before you begin

A list of core administrative workflows
Known products and manual tools
Vendor invoices, account lists, or documentation links where available

What to have when you finish

A diagram and list showing which tools support each workflow, who manages them, what evidence you checked, overlaps and dependencies, fallback, and open questions

Why this helps

A connected view can reveal duplicate costs, awkward handoffs, and changes that would affect several parts of the practice.

Do the work

Guided process

Work through the steps

01
Map the work and the people
Who handles itStack ownerTimingBefore listing featuresWhyThe work and the people doing it give you a useful starting point, even if the products change.Save thisWorkflow, intended outcome, roles, general data category, and acceptable fallback
Pause or get help when
Do not include client names, record details, credentials, recovery codes, or sensitive employee information.
02
Add the tools and what you know about them
Who handles itSystem ownerTimingFor each workflowWhyRecord what you've seen separately from what a vendor says or a contract describes. Leave room for what you haven't checked.Save thisProduct, owner, users, integrations, manual handoffs, dated source links, cost location, export notes, and unknowns
Pause or get help when
Route security, privacy, accessibility, contract, records, billing, and regulated-use conclusions to qualified reviewers.
03
Find duplicate tools and connections that could fail
Who handles itPractice ownerTimingAfter mappingWhyOnce you can see which workflows depend on each tool, you can ask better questions about overlap and what would happen if one stopped working.Save thisDuplicate tools, unsupported handoffs, owner gaps, renewal questions, fallback gaps, and prioritized follow-up
Pause or get help when
Do not remove or replace a system until continuity, export, contract, and affected-workflow questions are resolved.

Finish well

Adapt, record, review

Record what you decided and what comes next.

If your situation is different

A planning version can show capability needs before products are selected; an operating version should include observed use and current evidence.

Check your work

Every core workflow has a system or explicit manual method
Owners, integrations, handoffs, and fallbacks are visible
Facts and unknowns are labeled
The map contains no PHI, credentials, or readiness claims

Editable worksheet

Write down who will follow up.

Record who will follow up, where the approved records live, and what still needs an answer. Save the draft in this browser or print a copy. Browser storage is not secure record storage. Do not enter client details, credentials, health information, financial account numbers, or sensitive employee information.

Your draft stays in this browser.

Keep a copy

Download a PDF to keep or an editable Word document to continue working. The file is created on your device.

Removes the answers saved in this browser.

Common mistakes

Starting with a product list, ignoring spreadsheets and manual handoffs, or calling a stack secure or compliant because vendors make general claims.

Verify the work

Sources and review

Sources and limits

Scope: This map supports technology planning. It is not a data inventory, security assessment, privacy analysis, procurement approval, or determination that a product or stack is compliant or suitable.

Source record

Practice Hub research methodologyLudara · Governing project standardChecked 2026-07-23

Last reviewed: 2026-07-30. Information and requirements can change; confirm consequential decisions with the cited authority or an appropriate professional.

Report a possible error or better source