Changes

The primary mechanism IMSMANG uses for sharing information is the field report. As discussed in Chapter 1, field reports contain the vast majority of IMSMANG data and are the sole repository for entering operational information into the system. So, exporting and importing field reports let information managers easily share information between IMSMANG systems and other IMSMANG tools such as IMSMANG Remote Entry and IMSMA Mobile. Information managers can share large or small amounts of data directly with other IMSMANG users whether they are working together in the same programme or in separate countries.

When importing XML field reports into IMSMANG, there are occasionally problems with the data that cause the data to not be fully imported. These “import issues” are tracked on each field report and must be resolved before the field report can be approved. Typically, import issues are the result of references to auxiliary data such as places, organisations, ordnance or country structure elements that do not exist in the importing system. These issues can be resolved easily by creating the necessary auxiliary data and re-importing the field reports. This functionality is designed to permit imports to continue even if some of the linked data is missing.