Team-based facility assessment system

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Max S. Haberman
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This article is accompanied by sample forms, dataset definitions and sample data saved in this folder. For help on deploying the workflow, skip to 2. Deploy the workflow now!.

1. Overview

Data collection exercises like health facility assessments can start with inaccurate and incomplete lists of places to visit. Fortunately, with a well-designed data collection system, you can be prepared for the unanticipated, so you're able to adapt on the ground to newly discovered information that is crucial for assessing each facility. An ideal system like this one can also help assessment teams intelligently allocate the workload to help reduce idle time, keeping the whole project moving.

In this workflow, a manager either selects a facility to audit from a pre-populated list or captures the details of a new facility on an ad hoc basis. The manager then selects the forms that should be completed for that facility; some forms are always required, and some are optional. They will allocate each needed form to members of the enumeration team. Each case will contain the list of forms a specific enumerator is supposed to complete. When a form is completed, it will be removed from the list of forms, and once all forms are complete, the case will be "Closed", and removed from the case list, confirming that each team member has done their part to assess that facility.

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This use case covers the following sections:

  1. Deploy the workflow now!
  2. Understanding the workflow
  3. Workflow components
  4. Customization and improvements

In this workflow, you will be able to:

surveycto_icon.png Populate the system with a starting list of facilities to audit by uploading facility names into a server dataset.
surveycto_icon.png Track facility data in a server dataset, including which modules are assigned to which enumerators.
surveycto_icon.png

Prepare a list of enumerators in an enumerator dataset.
surveycto_icon.png Allow managers to add new facilities to be assessed, and assign them to enumerators.
surveycto_icon.png Use a password to prevent anyone besides a manager from adding a new facility.
surveycto_icon.png Assign the forms that must be completed to enumerators.
surveycto_icon.png For each set of modules for a facility that must be completed by a specific enumerator, create a case, so enumerators can easily see which forms they need to complete.
surveycto_icon.png Un-assign forms from enumerators as they are complete.
surveycto_icon.png Close cases once an enumerator completes all modules assigned to them.

2. Deploy the workflow now!

Click below to view this workflow in the Hub and install it on your server.

Install Workflow

Note: This is a case management workflow. To test it, follow these steps after deploying the workflow. The cases dataset name is "Facility cases".

 

Advanced users can find the sample workflow files in this folder. For help with manual deployment, check out our support article Deploying form definitions and server datasets.

3. Understanding the workflow

There are two parts to this workflow:

  1. Select or create facility: Have a manager fill out the form "New facility form" to assign facility forms to different enumerators. A case will be created for each enumerator that is assigned forms for that facility.
  2. Complete modules: Enumerators fill out the forms that have been assigned to them. 

3.1 Select or create facility

  1. Open the form "New facility form", assigning modules to enumerators.
    1. The user who fills out this form does not have to have the user role from step 1.2 above. However, if you are using offline case transfers, their user role does have to have "facility_cases" as their cases dataset. You can learn more in our support article How to transfer cases offline.
  2. Either select an existing facility from the list or add a new facility.
  3. Select the modules that should be completed for that facility. The two pre-selected modules are required, and the rest are optional.
  4. Assign each module to an enumerator. Multiple modules can be assigned to the same enumerator.
  5. Either submit the form to the server (so the rest of the team can sync with the server to download their cases) or transfer the new cases offline to the enumerators those cases are for.

3.2 Complete modules

Have the enumerators complete the modules that are assigned to them in the case. The modules should always be opened from a case, never from Fill Blank Form.

As modules are completed, they are removed from the list of forms to complete for the case. Once all modules are completed for that case, the case is then closed.

1. Select facility.png
2. Select modules.png
Select facility
Select modules
3. Assign modules.png
6. View assigned forms.png

Assign modules

Open case to see assignments

4. Workflow components

This workflow has one form for creating new facility assignments, five "module" forms to be completed by enumerators. and three server datasets. One of those server datasets is an enumerator dataset, and another is a cases dataset. Below, you can find a diagram showing the relationship between these components, as well as the list of components.

Team-based facility assessment flowchart.png

Workflow Component Files
Click on the section to access the files.
Forms
Name New facility form
File(s) Definition: New facility form
Description

This form should be filled out by managers. It is used to assign modules to a facility.

The manager will either select an existing facility or create a new facility. Then, they will select the modules (forms) that should be completed for that module, and select which enumerator should complete each module. Two of the modules (A and B) must always be completed for all facilities, and the manager will decide if the other three modules (C-E) should also be assigned.
Name

Facility module A: Facility manager interview
File(s) Definition: Facility module A: Facility manager interview
Description One of the modules that should be completed for all facilities.
Name Facility module B: Administration
File(s) Definition: Facility module B: Administration
Description One of the modules that should be completed for all facilities.
Name Facility module C: Supply audit
File(s) Definition: Facility module C: Supply audit
Description One of the modules that is not always assigned for a facility.
Name Facility module D: Service availability
File(s) Definition: Facility module D: Service availability
Description One of the modules that is not always assigned for a facility.
Name Facility module E: Maternal & infant health
File(s) Definition: Facility module E: Maternal & infant health
Description One of the modules that is not always assigned for a facility.
Enumerator Datasets
Name Facility enumerators
Files(s)

Definition: Dataset definition - Facility enumerators.xml
Data: Dataset data - Facility enumerators
Description Stores the list of enumerators that will complete the facility modules. The list of enumerators who can be assigned to modules in "New facility form" will be retrieved from this enumerator dataset.
Cases Datasets
Name Facility cases
Files(s)

Definition: Dataset definition - Facility cases.xml
Data: Dataset data - Facility cases
Description

Each case in this cases dataset will store the list of modules an enumerator must complete for a specific facility. For example, if two enumerators have been assigned modules for a facility, then there will be two cases for that facility, even if there are more than two cases that must be completed for that facility.

When the enumerator completes a module, it will be removed from the list. When all modules assigned to that enumerator for that facility are complete, the case will be closed.
Server Datasets
Name Facilities
Files(s)

Definition: Dataset definition - Facilities.xml
Data: Dataset data - Facilities
Description

List of facilities. This will store general information about each facility, including its name, address, phone number manager name, and which enumerators have been assigned which modules. The list of assignments are in a pipe-separated (|) list, where each item contains an enumerator ID and the form IDs of the modules assigned to that enumerator. Within those items, there is the enumerator ID, followed by a semicolon, followed by the list of form IDs in a comma-space-separated list that have been assigned to the enumerator with that enumerator ID. (The 'assignments' value is not retrieved by any form, but it can be used to help keep track of which modules were initially assigned to which enumerators.)


You can either add facilities using the "New facility form" form, or by adding data manually (such as by uploading a data file, or by using the Edit button).

5. Customization and improvements

To take full advantage of this workflow, activate advanced offline features. That way, as soon as an enumerator completes a form, it is removed from the list of forms to complete, with no need to submit it to the server first (submitting it to the server would require an Internet connection).

Here are other enhancements you can implement into the existing workflow's design:

  1. Publish all data from all forms to a single server dataset, so there is a single download point for data collected by different forms, so you don't have multiple data files for all forms.
  2. Use the "New facility form" to gather a roster of potential helpers who work at the facility (rather than just collecting the facility manager's name), and use the other forms to keep the roster up-to-date.
  3. Allow certain form modules to be completed more than once or a specified number of times.
  4. Re-assign modules to different enumerators.

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