Changes

After the Data Inventory Manager is customized to include all the necessary elements for data collection, the next step is to create field report templates. The Field Report Template Designer provides the capability for information managers to create customised field report templates for use with IMSMANGIMSMA^NG. The primary purposes of this tool are to:

1. <ol><li>Pick which data elements to collect for a programme</li>2. <li>Design templates for data entry that mimic paper forms</li></ol>

The Field Report Template Designer is a “what–you-see-is-what-you-get” (WYSIWYG) application for creating data entry forms in IMSMANGIMSMA^NG. With its drag-and-drop capability, the Field Report Template Designer lets information managers select from all of the data elements available in the Data Inventory Manager and position them on a template. Information managers can create wholly new data collection forms and forms that mimic existing paper forms using only the data elements that are valuable to their programme’s workflow. The resulting, streamlined templates—free from tabs and other confusing navigational concepts—can then be printed and used for data collection.

Because the design process is critical to the proper functioning of the information management system, IMSMANG IMSMA^NG provides several capabilities to facilitate the design and sharing of field report templates. Information managers can save drafts to the file system prior to publishing. These drafts stored in .FFML format can then be exchanged with other IMSMANG IMSMA^NG users or IMSMANG IMSMA^NG systems and be used to design other templates so information managers do not have to start with a blank template.

* After creating field report templates in IMSMANGIMSMA^NG, it is recommended to use another application to build the same forms for handwritten data collection in the field. The templates are built to accommodate typewritten data which requires less space than handwritten data. Using templates to record data in the field may impose limitations on the amount or extent of information collected.

Figure 18[[Image:AdminGuide_ProcessForPreparingReportTemplate. png|center|500px|''Process for Preparing and Maintaining Field Report Templates'']]<div align="center">''Process for Preparing and Maintaining Field Report Templates''</div>  

[[Image:AdminGuide_IncludeRelevantInfoOnly.png|center|500px|''Example of How to Limit Templates to Include Relevant nformation Only'']]Figure 19. <div align="center">''Example of How to Limit Templates to Include Relevant Information Only''</div>  

Some data elements should always appear on field report templates to preserve data integrity and searchability. By standardising these data elements, information managers ensure that the elements at a minimum can be used to find data within IMSMANGIMSMA^NG.

By removing unnecessary or invalid choices from forms, information managers can improve the quality of data collected and entered into IMSMANGIMSMA^NG. For example, if a form is designed to be a Minefield form, then there is no need to keep other possible values for the “Mine Action Area Type” that are not “Minefield.” In this case, values such as “SHA,” “Dangerous Area” and “Other” can be removed from the form, leaving “Minefield” as the only possible choice. This helps improve data quality while reducing the size and complexity of data entry forms.

When the field report templates are designed, information managers can publish them for use. The publication process includes choosing an organisation that the template belongs to and providing a version number. When an individual template is designed to support the needs of a specific organisation, information managers can select the organisation as the owner of the template. For example, if organisation XYZ uses a specific template to collect information, the template can be assigned to XYZ when it is published. Note that setting the owner of the template does not restrict data entry personnel from using the template. The template that is published and assigned to XYZ is accessible to all IMSMANG IMSMA^NG users, not just XYZ personnel. Also, if a template is for general use or not designed to support a specific organisation, the owner of the template can be set to “IMSMA” or any other organisation created in IMSMANGIMSMA^NG.

When a template is published using the same name as another published template, IMSMANG IMSMA^NG automatically deactivates the previously published template. Note that this does not change the format of any data already entered into IMSMANG IMSMA^NG using the previously published template. IMSMANG IMSMA^NG preserves the integrity of data as it was entered. Subsequent field reports, however, are entered and displayed using the updated version of the template.

To ensure the most recent and useful templates are available for data entry, information managers should periodically review the status of the published templates and deactivate or delete any templates no longer needed. If a template has already been used to enter data into IMSMANGIMSMA^NG, the template cannot be deleted from the system. But, information managers can deactivate the template so it cannot be used for data entry. Templates that have not already been used can be deleted.

When running IMSMANG IMSMA^NG in a multilingual environment where different users run IMSMANG IMSMA^NG in different languages, information managers have two options for creating templates:

Either approach works successfully and gives users of multiple languages full access to IMSMANG IMSMA^NG data.

An alternative approach to template design is to create a separate version of the same template for each language. Benefits of this approach include reduced form size since each piece of text is only represented once and simplified template creation since users can change their locale settings and begin designing templates that take advantage of the translations already provided in IMSMANGIMSMA^NG.