Data collection in a wired world: The Indaba Fieldwork Platform
www.getindaba.org
What is Indaba? Software-as-a-service platform with the following
purpose: management of projects / input of content and communication in collaborative projects Easy to customise so that the project, not the software determines workflow and who gets access to what and when
100% online tool that lives in the cloud; accessed via
browser Uses low bandwidth
www.getindaba.org
Why Indaba? Previously, many organisations used Microsoft word and
excel to collect data Problems:
Difficult to track changes over time, different versions etc Labour intensive Sticky notes become default tracking system/human error huge
Indaba helps to solve challenges associated with
managing larger teams that are not physically sitting together in the same room. Physically Making project workflows 100% transparent to all team
members Easy to track progress Presenting project managers and contributors with simple, realtime updates of where all their content is
www.getindaba.org
Tracking Progress
www.getindaba.org
Benefits continued….. Indaba empowers project managers by automating many
project management tasks via automated emails and alerts to contributors ( deadline reminders, queuing tasks etc) NGOs and research organizations empowered to publish their content to the web without needing a technical team of web designers. Content published out of Indaba using our web widgets and application programming interface (API). No need to worry about differing versions of content floating around the web. www.getindaba.org
Tracking Progress Your Inbox: deadline reminders, alerts & group messages. Via email. Project Updates: visibility into other people’s progress. A sense of community. www.getindaba.org
In conclusion Indaba eliminates the risk of information getting
lost/forgotten Data collection and methodology made 100% transparent Transparent workflow ensures everyone knows the process from the beginning (in short-who does what when) Works best when the work flow is predictable and can be determined before hand It does not yet integrate sms platforms although this can be built into the software & we would incorporate existing technologies like Ushahidi …. Rather than build from scratch
www.getindaba.org