Why Should You Have A Pilot Run On Your Digital Forms

Like most companies that engage in extensive data collection, are you also embarking on the conversion of your paper forms to digital forms, mobile forms or PDA forms? These days many companies invest wisely on form software and create custom digital forms. You will find many companies offering a forms conversion service. You will have to look for the right company to work with and you should also make sure to test the digital forms before you take it full swing. It will be even better if you can have a pilot run of your digital forms before you ever hire a company.

Having a pilot run on your digital forms is a highly crucial step in the custom forms selection process. What does this pilot run entail? You should find digital forms development companies that are ready to allow you to test at least one of the forms. You should convert one of your paper forms to digital format and use the actual equipment that you will be buying to test how effective it is in terms of meeting your needs.

Conversion of paper forms to digital forms involves several steps. First, the company that you are planning to hire should understand the flow of information in your forms. Forms are not simply a string of information collection fields. The information should be collected in a systematic way so that comparison of data and cross verification of information within the form is fast and easy. When you are using digital forms or PDA forms, your digital forms conversion company should develop forms in such a way that data collection is simplified further.

The second part is integrating the digital form with the data collection equipment. The forms have to be loaded to the equipment and there should be a seamless collection and storage of data. Thirdly, retrieval of data collected must be considered. You should be able to view easily the information gathered in the data collection equipment as well as at your back office data processing equipment, such as your computers or laptops.

Unless you have a pilot run, you will never be able to make the right decision whether the forms software you are planning to purchase, and the equipment that you are planning to use, are really the best in the industry. When you go for your pilot run, you should also make sure to check the time taken by the equipment to load the forms, save the data collected and reload the next form. If it is going to take a long time between each of these steps then your data collection process will be slowed down tremendously. All these drawbacks will only come to light when you have a pilot run or a trial. If you buy your digital forms software and data collection equipment without testing, then you will not be able to do much if there should be some problem. Your pilot run will save you from many of these hassles and get the best value for your money.

For many organisations the data they collect is their lifeline. Their business strategies and product positioning are steered by the data they collect from the field on a day-to-day basis. The field data they collect will be very rough, and it has to be processed to turn it into useful and intelligible business information. The entire cycle of data collection, data processing and data interpretation is a highly complicated process with many hidden challenges. Organisations spend a considerable amount of time, money and resources on these activities.

The first challenge comes in the form of having an adequate team to gather data. Secondly, the organisation should know how to source the required data and which channels should be accessed to compile the data. This will vary from one industry to another; what works for one company may not be the best solution for another. Each organisation has to identify the best sources of data for their respective industries and for their respective niches. You must however, remember that the entire process of data collection in itself will be a time consuming process. Many companies try to outsource data mining needs to third party companies but there are many disadvantages in this approach, including security breaches and confidentiality issues. Taking this one step further, if you are a data mining company yourself, you are forced to handle the task yourself as data mining is your core functionality.

The next part of the challenge is data processing. Here again you will need a large back office team that works on the data compiled by your field officers. Here many challenges crop up such as timeline issues, depending on the volume of the data to be processed, and data accuracy issues. You can easily skip this part and save a lot of time, money and organisational resources by using PDA forms, digital forms or mobile forms.

If you use mobile forms or digital forms, you will not require two teams to go over the same data. The entire process can be completed just with the help of a single team. You will be able to save over 50% of your organisational time on data collection and the data processing cycle. This will also minimise the issues with data accuracy. Data as collected will be available to the entire organisation directly in digital form.

Managing a back office team can turn out to be a challenging and expensive task as you need to provide them with the required infrastructure and a comfortable work environment. With commercial rental space becoming more expensive day by day, accommodating a large back office team would force you to rent a bigger area, which again will add on to your overhead costs.

It is not without reason that many organisations are investing their money to create digital forms and to create web forms. The little investment they make in this area goes a long way in saving money in the long term.

Today not only large corporations and big companies make lot of efforts to go green but even smaller corporations and medium sized businesses are putting their best foot forward in terms of going green. It has to be admitted that many companies in the beginning were using ‘going green’ as their marketing tool to project themselves as an environmentally responsible company. Today however thankfully there is a noticeable shift in the trend. Many companies today are making genuine efforts to help the environment and to leave as small a carbon footprint as possible. Many companies are becoming increasingly responsible in this area.

One of the most effective ways of going green is by using dynamic forms or digital forms instead of paper forms. It is not enough just to add notes such as, “Think of the environment before you print this email.” and “Don’t print this email unless you really need to.” Though such efforts are to be appreciated, they are just passive approaches. You need to take a more proactive and positive approach towards going green and that is the need of the hour. If your company uses a lot of surveys or questionnaires or any other form of information gathering as any part of your business for which you are currently using the conventional paper and pen method, then here is your chance to take that proactive step towards going green.

The whole idea about the ‘going green’ concept is using less resources. When we use digital forms, we will reduce the amount of paper that we use in our operations, this will contribute towards reducing the number of trees that are cut every year and reduce the carbon that is emitted into the environment. That is not everything, you will also use less electricity because you will not need a large team of back office executives processing your forms, and the list of green benefits continues.

When you choose to go green by using digital forms, the benefit is not only to you but also for your budget and profit. Except for the initial setup costs, you will save a considerable amount of money month after month and year after year. This will bring down your overhead costs dramatically. Isn’t this what every company is trying to achieve? Here again, is your chance for cost cutting. Here in this case going green also has an element of selfishness but in the good sense. Going green by the use of web forms, PDA forms and digital forms after all creates a win-win situation for you. When you have nothing to lose but have everything to gain, do not hesitate to make that shift in your organisation.

One of the concerns raised by customers when they approach a software development company to outsource their software requirements is the timeline issues. Whether it is business application development, business management software or windows mobile applications development, if you do not work with the right service provider, you are likely to run into timeline issues. If you want to deal with software development timeline issues then you should know the common problems that result in timeline related issues.

The first important factor is of course the experience of service provider or software development company. The company you choose to work with should have specific experience in dealing with similar projects. They should not be experimenting their skills or use your project as a test ground. Only when they have experience in dealing with similar work, they will able to match the schedule. If they lack experience, they will spend a lot of time in learning rather than on executing the work.

The second problem could be that your software development company can be an experienced company in the related field but the specific resource that is allotted to work on your requirements may not have sound knowledge about your requirements. Either because he or she is newly recruited or their specialty area is something other than your requirements.

The third common problem is your software company taking up too much work than it could actually handle with the resources they have. This happens very frequently with most companies. The number resources a company has is often outdone by the number of projects they take up. As a result each resource is dumped with work and they are distracted too much with multiple projects. This will also result in poor quality work and increase the number of issues in the work done.

It can also happen that your software development company has fixed unrealistic timelines either because they have not understood your requirements fully or because they wanted to impress you with their turnaround times. This will obviously result in your service provider not meeting their deadlines.

Yet another problem is poor communication cycle. If the communication cycle is not synchronized properly, then too you can face timeline issues. In some cases, customers may also fail to respond in a timely fashion resulting in deadline issues.

There can be more than one problem why your project is facing timeline issues. Most of the problems can be avoided completely by choosing the right service provider and by having a systematic approach to the task at hand. If your service provider is highly experienced in the respective field, then they will have highly streamlined procedures which will anticipate all possible bottlenecks in the development cycle.

With temperatures of -15 hitting most of the UK last week it became a struggle to beat the freeze while local authorities battled to keep the roads and schools open.

Temperature’s plummeted and people across the UK battled treacherous condition’s igroup battled to keep working through the week. However, with remote access, SharePoint and mobile working allowed igroup’s Chester office to perform as normal as many employees struggled to get to work.   

Chris, head of operations managed to struggle into work all through last week while the rest of the team dared not to brave the weather. Below are the snowy scenes from our Chester office.

Although ice, freezing fog and up to 11 inches of snow hit the UK igroup’s staff could work and continue as normal from their homes. As many organisations were struggling to keep to productivity levels normal remote working is a way forward. By employing a remote and mobile working philosophy productivity continues no matter what the weather and ensures that your business doesn’t lose out. During the decade employers will become even more flexible to suit our changing weather conditions and daily lives.

Anytime, anywhere working with mobile solutions and SharePoint keep’s ‘business as normal’.

Forrester have announced what mobility trends can we expect to see in 2010.Forrester, believe that 4G networks will continue to grow, along with the deployment of mobile apps. Devices based on Google's Android operating system may capture up to 10 percent market share. Employees will pressure IT departments to support their personal smartphones and other devices for business use. In addition, cloud-based apps that support the mobile workforce will become more popular.

In 2009, most companies reduced new technology investments in response to the uncertain global economic recession. However, the enterprise mobility picture was more positive as many firms continued to pursue mobility solutions to help them cut costs, improve worker productivity, and enhance business process efficiencies. We predict a more stable economic environment in 2010 and expect mobile network operators to implement programs to drive application development for fourth-generation (4G) and long-term evolution (LTE) networks not only for consumers but also for business. In addition, expect increased vendor and service provider focus on offering machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions to improve business process efficiencies in specific industries (e.g., healthcare, utilities, and the supply chain). More employees will also bring personally selected and purchased mobile devices (e.g., Android smartphones) into the office and use them for work-related mobile applications.

So 2010 is set to be a good year for paper forms to be brought into the new decade by being used electronically.

The UK IT market skipped a heart beat during the past year, however in 2010; it is back to what it does best. Global IT spend will advance by 4.4% led by pent-up demand for software. The leading software market to be in is enterprise software. Enterprise software will be the most lucrative software business to be in, according to Ovum (2009). Lead analysts in the field (Gartner, 2009) propose that the market for large enterprise mobility software is tipped to grow at 9% during 2010, putting enterprise mobility at the forefront in 2010 (Forrester, 2009).

By the end of 2010 the software market will be worth about £6.44 billion. Top ten trends to watch for in 2010 are as follows:

-          Cloud Computing

-          Advanced analytics

-          Client computing

-          IT for green

-          Flash memory

-          Virtualization for availability

-          Mobile applications

-          Reshaping the data centre

-          Social computing

-          Security: active monitoring.

Positively, companies specialising in business applications is a “key growth area,” for the UK software industry will “keep growing” (Gartner, 2009).   

Best practice: Holistic approach

By 2010, 50% of enterprises will have migrated away from tactical mobile application silos (supporting a single application) to strategic platforms capable of supporting multiple applications, managing devices, and securing data and transport.

Gartner, 2007

•          Faster development – A platform approach gets applications into users hands faster, delivering value quicker

•          Shared costs – for mobile infrastructure, development components, and devices

•          Focus on users & processes – remove technology concerns from the hands of the business

Best practice: Measure, Measure, Measure

 Failure to measure benefits and impacts is one of the most commonly seen points of failure in mobile projects

•          The highest performing organisations are ones that focus on measuring their performance

•          Mobile solutions are complex – without the right measurement approach you won’t know what works and what doesn’t

–        Especially for pilots, set aside time to fully analyse results and outcomes

•          It’s easy to fall into a trap where you just become very good at measuring things and generating KPIs

–        Look for “leading indicators” to reduce measurement overhead

Best practice: Human factors & adoption

•          Technology is a tool, not an end in itself

•          Demystify the technology, but hide the complexity

•          The importance of training

•          Workers are influenced by their peers

•          Bad news travels fast

82% of housing departments and associations have stated that mobile working is a priority for them in 2010, yet only 38% have a mobile working strategy in place.

 Integration with other IT applications is the main bug bear faced by housing departments in developing a mobile working strategy. Applications such as Micrsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be intergrated with a mobile IT solution, such as Dynamic Forms. However, according to the poll, the greatest benefits in implementing a mobile working strategy are to provide flexible and innovative ways of working for housing staff (33%) and higher service to citizens (36%).

Housing associations face immense challenges (NHF, 2009). These range from being able to generate tangible savings in 2010, improving ways of working for staff and enhancing service for citizens. Housing associations are coming around to the idea that mobile working strategies can deliver innovative, yet practical, ways of solving these challenges.

An example of mobile working initiative is to give field staff handheld devices to carry out updates on repairs and timesheets while they are out visiting customers which are logged on completion. Immediate benefits in achieving efficiency improvements.  In addition to reducing levels of manual data entry, fuel and inventory costs will decrease and there have been significant gains in productivity.

Visit igroup at the premier IT exhibition in social housing on the 17 – 18 November, Olympia, London.

IT in Housing Exhibition is the UK’s largest and most highly acclaimed housing technology exhibition.

The exhibition, which forms the focal point of the National Housing Federation’s IT in Housing Conference, is now in its 10 year, and offers delegates and visitors an excellent one-stop opportunity to explore the latest innovations, products and services from 80 leading ICT suppliers to the housing sector.

Visit igroup Ltd to experience demos of Dynamic Forms, and talk to our team to discuss your mobile IT needs.

Entry to the exhibition is free of charge.

Housing Associations belong in the community, not behind a desk. Many housing organisations are already reaping the rewards of today’s technologies. According to the Future Work Forum, one in three UK workers does at least part of their work each week away from their desk. Millions of working hours each day are spent working in the community, undertaking surveys, assessing houses fit for purpose.  With growing awareness of flexible and remote working, the challenge is to enable workers in the field, or at remote locations, to be as productive and efficient as they possibly can be in the housing sector.

One part of the solution is to deploy mobile technology to provide the housing sector workers with access to job-related information wherever they are based. The potential benefits of mobile working are positively compelling: the UK government estimates the public sector could save up to £336 million a year through mobile technology.  These savings would be generated through reduced office costs, efficiency savings, service improvement and improved quality of data.

Rob Bamforth, research analyst with Quocirca stated that “the ‘real’ work is outside the office” meaning that housing associations could benefit enormously from mobile working. “Providing access to IT on the move saves time, and therefore makes the individual more productive.”

For example, the London Borough of Sutton achieved 47% efficiency savings when it provided staff with tablet PCs to record the results of interviews. Computerising the process has reduced errors and also means the results can be processed more easily – a typical house survey can now be processes in less than one week, compared to five weeks previously.

In Sheffield, 84 local councillors have been provided with PDA’s allowing them to electronically record requests, complaints and repairs, which are automatically sent back to the council’s contact centre. This system saves each councillor around three hours per week in paperwork and administration, translating into a major financial saving for the council.

Achieving the benefits of mobile computing isn’t always straightforward. One of the biggest challenges with mobile computing deployment is a lack of knowledge and a lack of planning. Local authorities can access expert advice and support for mobile project from igroup ltd, which has successfully completed a number of mobile projects in the housing sector/ public sector.

}  The use of mobile devices is growing exponentially as companies look for new ways to support a workforce that requires easy, wireless access to forms and other documents in the field.

}  Without a solid investment in current business technologies, you can’t compete effectively in a global marketplace. }  Companies struggle to define a mobile IT strategy. }  They also find it difficult to identifying the right set of tools for managing mobile IT (MDM).}  Companies tend to start with the technology and work backwards from there, trying to solve business problems.

}  Finding the right option is imperative.

}  We are in an ‘info-centric’ era as we focus our IT plans and strategies around information rather than the computer.

What should a Mobile IT strategy look like?

}  Mobility should be at the core of any and all IT strategies going forward.

}   Increasingly distributed operations.

}   Hopefully Reduce legacy infrastructure costs.

}  Think through operational issues before finalising a strategy - management, support, security.

}  Pick the best toolset for the job, but keep growth in mind.

}  Handhelds will replace PCs for many but expect continuing evolution for the foreseeable future.

}  Build teams regardless of the physical distance between team members. 

Competitive Advantage from Strategy

}  The theme is one of continuous connectivity, where we can access data anywhere.

}  The main competitive advantage remaining today for any business, irrespective of industry, is the ability to obtain and act on information ahead of your competition.

}  Your ability to get information into the hands of people who need that information, and enable them to act on and interact with that information before the competition does, is what's going to make a difference in terms of business success.

Overview

}  The value that mobility brings to an enterprise is well known. It's difficult to imagine how an enterprise cannot benefit from access to information at any location at any time.

}  The company should ensure investments in mobile IT fulfil the desired objective of contributing to evolving the IT infrastructure to higher levels of enterprise mobility.

}  An enterprise mobile strategy should ensure that:

}  The fast-changing technology landscape does not result in investments becoming redundant.

}  The existing IT infrastructure can be leveraged to provide mobile solutions.

}  Implementation of mobility does not affect the performance and functionality of existing critical enterprise IT systems.  

Productivity and patient care could be improved by remote IT access for community health workers.

Is it the end of the clipboard in hospitals?

Mobile technology for community health workers could increase productivity by a quarter, reduce travel time by a third, and improve patient care, according to the results of an NHS trial.A three-month pilot run by Nottinghamshire Health Informatics Service allowed community clinicians and therapists to securely access clinical systems and patient records on the move.Electronic versions of NHS forms were downloaded on staff’s PDA, to enable them to complete patient forms remotely. Such forms and patient records can be completed off-line and in remote locations. User’s  were given PDA’s to carry out their daily patient checks.

iGroup’s ‘Dynamic Forms’ can assist the NHS, as the device allows real time access allowing nurses to respond to referrals while on their rounds. Using a paper system, if a patient requires a blood test, they must wait until a nurse comes off their rounds to see the note. The nurse can receive the request and respond immediately.

"Because a quicker blood test means a quicker diagnosis and quicker treatment, people can get out - and no one wants to be in hospital," said Salford staff nurse Jenny Quilliam.The results of the trial showed the potential for a 25 % increase in productivity, reduction in travel times of 32 %, with the potential to reduce commuting by 50 %.On average 96 % of patient notes were completed on the day - without mobile working, there is typically a delay of up to 48 hours as workers report back to the office to write up notes.Users perceived an average of 70 % improvement in facilities to do their job.

‘The mobility trial has helped to transform the way community clinicians and therapists work,’ said Stuttle.‘Users have access to real-time information, enabling them to plan their day better and have direct contact with colleagues and hospitals. This solution is helping to deliver the highest quality care for patients.’

With iGroup's solution, ‘Dynamic Forms’, which will help increase productivity in the NHS and reduce travel times, as well as giving maximum ROI will mean to end of hospital clip boards.

- Despite the global recession 26% of enterprises are planning to increase their IT budget in North America, Europe and the Middle East in the fourth quarter of 2009 and into 2010.

- Adoption of enterprise mobility solutions is set to increase in 2010.

- A survey of 1110 IT decision makers in 2009 found that in the next two years 38% of enterprises will have deployed a mobility solution, up from 29% in 2008.

- Healthcare will lead growth in mobility solutions adoption

- Mobile technology is evolving to suit the changing demands of mobile workers

- Investing in mobility solutions benefits the whole organisation, not just the mobile employees.

Has your organisation developed a mobility solution?

sept 2009.pdf (806.10 kb)

igroup have launched their September 2009 newsletter which can be found on www.igroupltd.co.uk.

By reading igroup's monthly newsletter find out about what igroup are up to, what new prodcuts and services we offer and updates on igroup's staff and customers.

Each month you can read how igroup have helped their client's to run faster with increased efficiency and productivity whilst being more competitive and helping them to cut cost's. Find out where you can see igroup at trade show's and seminars, and if you can't make it, updates on how they went will be published in the newsletter and igroup will add pictures of its staff at events, seminars and with clients.