How to create a Mobile Data Collection App to improve your field inspection and asset management process?
If you plan to transition to a mobile data collection app, you can follow the 3-step approach covered below to implement the ideal Mobile Data Collection (MDC) solution.
- Understand how data collection supports your organization’s use cases
- Define your mobile data collection app strategy
- Design, build and deploy your mobile data collection software
You can leverage the approach to build your mobile data collection apps successfully and eliminate data-entry errors, lost forms, wait times, and empower decision-makers with the correct data and intelligence at the right time.
Creating a Mobile Data Collection App – A Prerequisite
Before the 3-step approach powering your mobile data collection app, you must look at salient components that can impact your MDC program design and performance. For instance, data, online forms, surveys, and inspections associated with a specific industry such as Utilities, Oil & Gas, Property Management, Telecom sectors matter when building and rolling out your app. In the same way, the customizable nature of the app or the easy-to-use features with minimal or no training can prove advantageous to get the most out of your data collection efforts.
Scrutinizing Salient Components
You need to examine critical components that can have a telling effect on your mobile data collection app. Weighing these components, enlisted below, will guide you to choose the best platform to create your MDC program.
User requirements and use cases
Mobile data collection app supports multiple use cases across industries. When creating the app, you need to connect your MDC app’s inspection, survey, research, or evaluation needs. As envisioned, your app must support effective data tracking and share real-time information. Therefore, connecting your critical use cases to the mobile data collection app is essential.
Data capture
When handling multi-faceted surveys and inspections, you require end-to-end data capture facilities, such as video, audio, or image surveys. For example, let’s say that a mobile app drives OSHA assessment for a water utility. Apart from the cascade of gathering information about the pole, there is also a need to capture audio, video, and image files that can act as proof.
Determining your data needs will help you pick the ideal mobile data collection tool. For instance, your mobile data collection app can be built to meet the purpose of visualizing data and creating maps, which will guide you to choose a suitable MDC platform.
It is a requisite that you need to consider the all-encompassing data capture facilities promoted by the app. In addition, evaluating the mobile data collection platform’s ability to accommodate the increasing file sizes and the bandwidth required to upload those files also matters most to implement robust mobile data collection software.
GIS & Mapping
Data collection also emphasizes geo-intelligent data. There comes a need to perform inspection supported by polygons, lines, and points. For example, a field crew in an electric utility company conducts regular inspections in mapping the infrastructure. Your mobile data collection apps supporting GIS in capturing the longitude, latitude, altitude, and GPS heading will help the team capture key data during the utility pole inspection.
Security protocols
It is critical to protect your organization’s data from cybersecurity threats like Malware and ransomware. MDC platforms can leverage secure cloud technologies to enhance data protection and security in this context. Therefore, the mobile data collection app must have a multi-layered approach to mobile security and data privacy.
Skip logic
As your data collection hinges on questions about the form or survey supporting specific use cases, you must make sure to skip logic to build your questionnaire based on previous responses. Therefore, you need to ensure that the mobile data collection tool reflects logic features supporting contextual data collection for specific use cases, real-time business intelligence, and reporting. Regarding the skip logic part, you can come across mobile data collection software that supports simple branch and prerequisite logic mechanisms.
Integration with other tech platforms
Digitizing your data collection program is further enhanced by the mobile data collection platform’s ability to integrate with other tech platforms to facilitate data analysis, business intelligence, and reporting. You must evaluate if the MDC platform promotes API integrations, enables sync to cloud, and allows advanced integrations with ERP, CRM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.
Phone compatibility for Forms
It would help if you took note of the device types that become a part of the mobile data collection app system. For example, android phones work well with many MDC platforms. However, in finalizing your mobile data collection tool, you should note that few MDC platforms work with Windows, Blackberry, and Apple devices.
Setup
The key is to enable a seamless and easy setup of your mobile data collection tool. First, you must gauge the MDC platform to understand the ease of design regarding workflow management, data collection and management, and processes supported to build survey instruments and online forms.
Let’s consider the scenario of setting up and creating the IVR form for field staff necessitated to collect data from remote places. While setting up the mobile data collection software, you must evaluate the effectiveness of setting up and using features like IVR, SMS, and complex online forms to gauge the performance of the app.
Budget allocation
Your budget has a more significant say in picking the ideal mobile data collection platform. Regarding your overall budget associated with the mobile data collection app, you need to weigh the long-term and short-term costs by evaluating the platform’s support, maintenance, and training expenses to cherry-pick the right mobile data collection tool.
Streamline data collection with Fielda’s Mobile Data Collection App
Look no more, Fielda app has created Mobile Data Collection App considering all these components. With our mobile data collection app, you can streamline your data collection efforts and process, reduce data errors, and enhance efficiencies while lowering your overall cost.