WGU C798: Informatics System Analysis and Design

What C798 Really Is, and Who Ends Up Taking It

WGU C798, Informatics System Analysis and Design, is a graduate-level course in the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Nursing Informatics program. It builds directly on the groundwork laid in C790 Foundations in Nursing Informatics, taking you from understanding informatics concepts to actually planning and designing a healthcare information system yourself. If you are a nurse or health professional working toward an informatics credential, this is the course where the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) stops being theory and becomes a project you have to build and defend.

Direct answer: C798 is passed by completing a performance assessment, not by memorizing facts for a proctored test. To pass, work through each phase of the SDLC methodically, ground every design decision in interoperability, patient safety, and the relevant federal regulations, and follow the task rubric line by line so an evaluator can check off every requirement without guessing.

Because this is applied graduate work tied to real healthcare settings, the course asks you to think like the informatics nurse who sits between clinical staff and the IT department. Electronic records are now standard in patient care, and a poorly designed system can genuinely put patients at risk. That framing matters: the course rewards analysis that keeps quality of care, user satisfaction, and data access at the center of every recommendation.

How C798 Is Assessed

C798 is evaluated through a performance assessment (a submitted project), not a multiple-choice objective assessment. You will not sit a proctored exam full of test questions. Instead you produce deliverables that are scored against a rubric by WGU evaluators, and you may resubmit if a section does not yet meet the standard. Based on public descriptions of the task, the work typically includes a written systems analysis and design plan built around a realistic healthcare scenario, a project timeline for the SDLC phases, and a recorded presentation to executive leadership explaining your SDLC approach. Always treat the current task prompt and rubric inside your WGU course of study as the final authority, since WGU updates task versions over time.

The Core Topic Areas You Will Work Through

The material centers on a small set of high-value ideas that reappear across every deliverable:

• The System Development Life Cycle (SDLC): planning, analysis, design/development, implementation, and evaluation. You need to be able to describe what happens in each phase and sequence the activities correctly.
• Evaluating informatics systems: distinguishing effective from ineffective systems using criteria like interoperability, functionality, data access, and user satisfaction.
• Patient safety and quality of care: tying every design choice back to safe, high-quality patient outcomes rather than technology for its own sake.
• Federal regulations and legislation: researching and integrating the rules that govern health data and electronic records into your analysis.
• Safety frameworks: applying recognized safety-assurance guidance for electronic health records when you assess system resilience and risk.
• Project planning tools: using a Gantt chart or similar timeline to organize the SDLC phases into a workable implementation plan.
• Executive communication: translating technical plans into a clear, persuasive presentation for non-technical leadership.

How Hard It Is and How Long to Budget

Because C798 is a written and presented project rather than a timed exam, "difficulty" here is more about organization and follow-through than raw recall. Many students report that the challenge is not understanding the SDLC itself but assembling a coherent, well-cited project that touches every rubric point, and that the recorded presentation trips people up more than the paper does. Students who have already internalized the SDLC from C790 often move faster.

Plan for steady, focused work over one to three weeks rather than a single marathon. A realistic approach is to draft one SDLC phase or one rubric section per work session, then revise. If you are balancing a nursing job and family, protecting a few consistent blocks of time each week will serve you far better than waiting for a free weekend that never quite arrives.

A Study and Build Plan That Fits This Course

Passive reading is the wrong tool for a performance assessment. Use these tactics instead:

• Reverse-engineer the rubric first. Before writing anything, turn each rubric row into a checklist item. This is active recall applied to requirements, and it keeps you from losing points on things you actually knew.
• Practice-test your SDLC knowledge. Without looking at your notes, write out the five SDLC phases and one concrete healthcare activity for each. Fill the gaps you find. Repeat this over several days for spaced repetition.
• Anchor to one scenario early. Pick or adopt a single realistic system (a telehealth rollout, an EHR module, a documentation upgrade) and carry it through every phase so your deliverables stay consistent.
• Cite as you go. Keep a running list of the regulations, safety frameworks, and course materials you reference so your final paper has verifiable support rather than unsupported claims.
• Rehearse the presentation out loud. Record a rough take early, watch it, and note where you ramble. Executive-level clarity improves fast with two or three practice runs.
• Use your course mentor and cohort intentionally. Ask targeted questions about rubric wording rather than open-ended "how do I pass" ones. Peers who recently submitted can tell you where evaluators tend to send work back.

Where Students Lose Points

The most common setbacks in C798 are avoidable:

• Skipping or thinning out an SDLC phase. Evaluators expect all phases addressed; a strong plan with a weak evaluation phase still gets returned.
• Writing generically. Recommendations that could apply to any organization read as unsupported. Tie yours to your specific scenario and to patient safety.
• Ignoring the regulation and safety requirements. These are explicit rubric elements, not background flavor. Name the specific rules and frameworks you used.
• Treating the presentation as an afterthought. A rushed or over-long recording undermines otherwise solid analysis. Respect the time expectation and speak to leadership, not to a checklist.
• Not proofreading for the evaluator. Vague structure forces the evaluator to hunt for requirements. Clear headings that mirror the rubric make it easy to award you full marks.

C798 Readiness Checklist

• Can you name the five SDLC phases in order and describe a healthcare activity in each?
• Can you explain the difference between an effective and an ineffective informatics system using interoperability, functionality, data access, and user satisfaction?
• Can you connect each of your design decisions to patient safety or quality of care?
• Can you identify the specific federal regulations relevant to your system and explain how they shape your plan?
• Can you apply a recognized EHR safety framework to assess risk in your design?
• Can you build a project timeline (such as a Gantt chart) that sequences your SDLC phases realistically?
• Can you map every rubric requirement to a section of your submission?
• Can you deliver a clear, appropriately timed presentation aimed at executive leadership?

C798 FAQ

Is C798 an objective assessment or a performance assessment?

It is a performance assessment. You complete and submit a project scored against a rubric rather than sitting a proctored multiple-choice exam. Confirm the exact deliverables in your current course task, since WGU revises task versions periodically.

What is the best thing to do before I start writing?

Read the full task and rubric, then convert each rubric row into a checklist. Choosing your healthcare scenario up front and carrying it through every SDLC phase keeps your deliverables consistent and complete.

How does C798 relate to C790?

C798 builds on the SDLC and informatics foundations from C790 Foundations in Nursing Informatics. If those concepts are shaky, a quick review of C790 material will make C798 noticeably smoother.

Do I really need to record a presentation?

Public task descriptions indicate a recorded presentation to executive leadership is part of the assessment. Treat it as seriously as the paper, rehearse it, and keep it within the expected length. Always follow your live task instructions for current requirements.

How can I avoid a resubmission?

Address every rubric point explicitly, support your claims with named regulations and frameworks, and use headings that mirror the rubric so the evaluator can verify each requirement. Vague, generic, or incomplete sections are the usual reasons work is returned.

Where can I find related WGU informatics guides?

If you are moving through the health informatics track, our guides for C816 Healthcare System Applications and C802 Foundations in Healthcare Information Management pair well with C798. You can also browse the full library of WGU study guides or the technology course hub for adjacent systems-analysis topics. For the official course description, check the WGU Nursing Informatics program page.