QualityNet Mailer (Listserv Replacement)

CMS’s Information Systems Group (ISG) is in the process of replacing the existing HCQIS Lyris Listserv notification and discussion system with the new GNU Mailman system (referred to as QualityNet Mailer). QualityNet Mailer will be fully integrated within Qualitynet - QNP 2.0 (public access) and H-CMS (administrator access).

QualityNet Mailer is a list management system that is used to assist Application Development Organizations (ADOs) and contractors in communicating with large groups of end-users, program participants, and stakeholders.

The system offers two types of lists:

Notification List: Provides a means to disseminate key product, program, and/or policy news and other information via email to a large group of list subscribers or designated recipients.
Discussion List: Allows all list members to participate in open, ongoing email conversations regarding topics of interest, such as tools, best practices, idea-sharing, problem-solving.

All lists are made available via subscription from the Sign Up for Email Updates page of the QualityNet website. Public lists are offered for open subscription, while Private lists may be established for reaching a more select group of participants.

Note: Private list members must be approved by the List Administrator.

To register for a Notification or Discussion list, select the Public or Private list tab on the Sign Up page, then select checkboxes for the lists you want to subscribe to and submit your request. You will then receive an email with instructions on how to confirm your subscription. Private lists require approval from the List Administrator before the confirmation email is sent.

QUICK START GUIDE

How to Request a Notification or Discussion List

To request a new Notification or Discussion list, follow the process outlined on the new List Request/Fulfillment Process documented below. The following provides a brief description of the process for submitting a request, fulfilling a request, and administering a list.

Submitting a Request

Step 1: Complete the HCQIS Email List Request form by providing the following minimum list criteria:

- CMS approver (COR/program lead)
  - Contact information
- List Administrator(s) (must have HARP ID)
  - Contact information
- List Name — Description
- List Type — Notification/Discussion
- List Membership — Public/Private
  - Membership restrictions (for Private list)
- Target/Need by date

Step 2: Send the completed form to ESS_ADO_Support@ventera.com for fulfillment.

Fulfilling a Request

Upon receipt of the List Request form, the ESS QualityNet Mailer team will complete the following steps:

- Verify the minimum criteria are provided and open a Jira ticket.
- Forward the request to the appropriate CMS COR/program lead for approval.
- Create the requested list.
- Advise the designated List Administrator(s) to request the role in HARP.
- Add the list to the Sign Up for Email Updates page on QualityNet.org, making the list available for subscription.

Administering a List

The List Administrator serves as the list manager, disseminating email messages and monitoring the subscriber list. Note that all designated List Administrators must have a HARP ID, which can be obtained at any time by registering at: https://harp.qualitynet.org/register.

Please note for the MVP release: on occasion, notifications to Subscription recipients may be delayed upwards of 75 mins for a subset of users. We are diligently working to optimize the delivery timeframes when encountering errors and list members will see these times improve over the coming weeks.

User Resources

Definitions

CMS approver - must be CMS COR, security official, product owner
List Administrator - authenticated user (requires HARP account), with privileges to:
- add/remove list members
- approve new list members (private lists)
- create, send email messages to list members (Notification lists)
HARP ID - established during registration for HCQIS Access Roles and Profile (HARP) account, available at: https://harp.qualitynet.org/register
List name - typically refers to program/topic; subject to editing (approximately 110-character limit)
List description - for use on list sign-up page to assist potential subscribers in selection process
Notification list - available via subscription; for distribution of CMS-approved messages to list members
Discussion list - available via subscription; any list member may create message, which is distributed to all list members
Public list - open to anyone, via subscription (available from QualityNet.org) or addition by List Administrator
Private list - open to defined (restricted) group; membership request approved by List Administrator

QualityNet Mailer Roles

This chart defines the specific roles within the QualityNet Mailer.

Note: for purposes of the MVP release, all roles are currently present with the exception of Program Administrator (which is planned for a future release).

QualityNet Mailer Role Name	Role (HARP)	Can take action on a list	Can create lists	Can add users	Can confirm user email	Can approve/disapprove list posting	Can approve/disapprove list subscription	Role (Mailman)
System Administrator	H_CMS_mailmanSysAdministrator	All lists	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	n/a
List Administrator	H_CMS_listAdministrator	All lists they are assigned	No	Yes, listModerator or Member within their assigned lists	Yes	Yes, within lists they are assigned	Yes, within lists they are assigned	owner for the assigned list
List Moderator	H_CMS_listModerator	All lists they are assigned	No	Yes, Member with their assigned lists	Yes	Yes, within lists they are assigned	Yes, within lists they are assigned	moderator
Program Administrator	H_CMS_listProgramAdministrator	All lists within their program	Yes, within their program	Yes, listAdmin, listModerator or Member within their program	Yes	Yes, within their program	Yes, within their program	owner for each list within their program

Help Desk User Stories

Item

As a

<type of user>

I want to

<perform some task>

So that I can

<achieve some goal>

Feature

Steps for Help Desk Agents

Notes

1

QualityNet Mailer public site user

Select and signup for a QualityNet Mailer List on QualityNet.org public site

Become a member of that list and receive notifcations from that list.

QualityNet Mailer subscription page (QualityNet.org public site

Navigate to the QualityNet.org public website (www.qualitynet.org) and select the "Subscribe to Email Updates" button near the top of the page.
The system will navigate you to the QualityNet Mailer subscription page (https://www.qualitynet.org/listserv-signup).
The page consists of both Public and Private Lists tabs for selection.
User selects their desired lists and enters their Name and Email Address.
User selects the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page.
The user will be redirected to the QualityNet Mailer "success" page indicating their signup for the selected lists.
If this the first time a user has signed up for any list, they will receive a confirmation pop up indicating successful signup for a list (noting that if a Private list was selected, List Administrator approval is first required.
If the user had previously signed up for lists, the system will redirect the user to a success page. The system will provide details for the list selected, as well as, any other lists the user may be subscribed to.

If the user selected a Public list, they will automatically be added to the list notification updates after verifying their email address when receiving the automated welcome email from QualityNet.org. If the user selected a Private list, the List Administrator for the list will either accept/reject their subscription request before the user can receive messages.

2

QualityNet Mailer List Administrator

Manage Subscribers signing up for Private mailing lists

When a Subscriber requests to join a Private mailing list, I can accept or reject their admission to the list.

H-CMS Admin User Interface (QualityNet Mailer functionality)

Navigate to the list management pages of QualityNet at https://www.qualitynet.org/admin using your HARP user ID and password.*
After logging into QualityNet, you should see the Manage Lists page, which displays the mailing list(s) for which you are an approved List Administrator. Regarding list types, public lists are those to which anyone may subscribe. Private lists require List Admin approval for a subscriber to be added to the mailing list.
To view a mailing list’s details, select the “View” link.
To view pending requests for a Private list, select the “Requests” link.
Upon selecting “Requests” for a Private mailing list, you will be directed to the Pending Requests page.
Two different types of Pending Requests may be available for action on the page – “Email Confirmation Request” and/or “List Subscription Request”.
An Email Confirmation Request appears when a user has requested to sign up for subscriptions to a new list; the list can be either Public or Private. The List Administrator can approve (verify) the email for the user if desired. Note: The List Administrator is not required to approve the email for a potential Subscriber – this option has been made available in the event that a Subscriber does not receive their automated welcome email or has issues verifying their own email address. In the event of that occurring, typically the Subscriber would have reached out to the List Administrator indicating they never received an automated welcome email to the their desired list.
A List Subscription Request verification option will also be available on this page, if the list to which a user a potential Subscriber attempted to Subscribe is a Private mailing list.
Select one or many pending requests and then “Approve” or “Reject” the requests.
The user will receive an email notification upon being approved or rejected for the mailing list.

Note: Administrator Interface for H-CMS requires authentication with both a HARP ID account, as well as, Zscaler access.

*In order to acquire access to the List Administration functionality, you must:

Log into HARP identity management portal at https://harp.qualitynet.org/login/login and select “User Roles” in the top right. (You must have a HARP account to become a List Administrator.)
Select the “QualityNet Mailer” Program, your list’s Organization, and the “QualityNet List Administrator” user role, then submit the request. You will receive an email notification when your role request has been approved or rejected by the list’s Security Official.
Once you’ve been granted the List Admin role, you can log into the list management pages of QualityNet at https://www.qualitynet.org/admin using your HARP user ID and password.

System Status

OPERATIONAL

Need Help ?

For questions, please reach out to the QualityNet Support Services at: ServiceCenterSOS@cms.hhs.gov