Update new data entry system
As many of our readers may know, Stichting HIV Monitoring (SHM) has been working together with ICT Automatisering and the AMC’s general IT service (ADICT) to develop a new data entry system that is based on LogicNets software. To ensure the new system is operational in the first quarter of 2018, various teams within SHM are working hard to develop and test the protocols and build data models.
Phase 7 of the project started at the end of July and will run until early October 2017. This is the penultimate phase before the new data entry system goes live early 2018. During this phase, protocol construction is being rounded off and the data management team is working on various technical aspects of the new system to ensure that the information entered into the new system is properly stored in SHM’s data warehouse. In addition, the data management team is preparing for the migration of the data from the current data entry system (Oracle Clinical) to the new system. In this way, the data in Oracle Clinical will remain accessible through the new data entry system.
Another recent milestone in the project is that the data monitoring functionality has now been built in the LogicNets system and is currently being extensively tested by SHM’s data monitors. With this, ICT Automatisering has now delivered almost all the required functionalities for the data entry system and, consequently, the focus of the work has now shifted to testing the system.
Testing is a labour-intensive and time-consuming process and the original testing team has therefore been expanded. In addition to the various testing groups (protocol builders, data management, data monitors, data collectors and analysis), an overall testing coordinator has been appointed and is responsible for determining the order of testing and monitoring the testing progress. In addition, a test coordinator has been appointed for each group. These coordinators decide who will carry out the testing and who will develop actual test cases. They also ensure that the testing outcomes are documented and attend meetings to discuss the outcomes. During the testing phase all the individual components are first tested separately, and then tested in series (chain testing), where all the components of the system are tested together by the different testing groups.
One of our priorities within the project is to ensure that all end users are involved in the process from as early on as possible. Therefore, SHM’s national data collectors’ review day on 26 June 2017 focused mainly on the new system. Data collectors were given demos and could familiarize themselves with the new data entry system through a series of interactive sessions and a Q&A session. They have also been invited to report on their experiences with the new system and provide feedback through an online evaluation form. The outcome of this evaluation is currently being processed and will be used as input to further improve the new data entry system.