My experience with ODK **ODK vs Me**

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ODK vs Me

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ODK (Open Data Kit) is an android application used to collect data using mobile or wireless network.
It gives you the ability to work offline beside online mode and have an easy user interface, you don’t have to be developer to use it.
You can design the form online or offline you can use Excel to create “xlsx” form, it’s adaptable so you can create your form without restriction or limitations Supporting all data type and multi-choices, widgets like GPS, barcode…etc.
You can also do calculation within the form using calculated filed without any interaction from data collectors.
Data stored in server which you preconfigured (also you can use Google App Engine or sheet as server).
Server controlled via ODK controller (called ODk Aggregate) which support serving multi form, filter, analyze and export data to csv, kml, json files.
Data safety is what we look when data collect, so ODK application say to the server “if you didn’t get it I will keep it”.
This means ODK synchronize with server to ensure data send completely and correctly.

My experience with ODK:

I execute 3 projects in a single project, yes I did 3 forms in a single form and this because I used ODK.
My form had 254 filed with image and GPS. And the most incredible thing in ODK, I modified the form to add image and GPS within project execution (of course I used online mode to let filed workers get the updated form) under client request, everything was perfect.
I don’t like surprises in my work.
I was asking myself when I will see an exception message or the famous message “Application stop responding (wait /close)”, I finished my project without any errors.
Even data collectors they were so happy when thy talking to me about ODK and I don’t know what ODK did for them.
After that I gave myself a mission to let ODK give me an error message (throw an exception, or give me wrong data)
I tried disconnecting network while sending submission, and it still working
I tried even limiting my connection bandwidth to limit the network communication speed and it still working.
I send 2,000 submission from ODK (from my phone) and it still working.
Then I thought maybe not all submission received, I opened my server webpage and I found 2,000 submission in my server, it still working.
I send that (2,000) 4 times, I checked my webpage i let the page display 2,000 record then 4,000.
That webpage handle 4,000 record !, it still working.
Finally I surrender to ODK, I couldn’t make it throw an exception.
So I knew that ODK is an application I can trust, ODK created with professional hands.
Next Project for me 78,000 submissions (forms), and I know that, I know it will still working.
When I see these three letters (ODK) I have to raise my hand for ODK and for ODK Developer Team.

who i am ?

I am a 12 years developer, :point_right: (i am 32 years old) .

:writing_hand: Nader Beshr

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Just to provide more context here. There was a thread on Twitter at https://twitter.com/OpenDataKit/status/900327147293868033 where Nader wanted to write an article about ODK for Tech Rasam and thought he'd get some quick community feedback first.

@Nader, my first bit of feedback is that you should reach out to the folks at https://techrasam.org or https://twitter.com/techrasamHQ and ask them exactly what they are looking for as far as topic, audience, and length. That'll help shape the feedback the community can offer.

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Hi yanokwa,
you are right , i did it and they send me this message :

“Hi nader. You can write about your experience of using ODK. Was it easy to use? what were the challenges? what did you like the most… etc… That would be very helpful”

so i wrote that article.

Best Regards

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Sounds like you took the same first step I would have taken. Have you sent them a first draft for their feedback?

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thank you yanokwa,

i realy aprestiate

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thank you yanokwa,

you saved my life

:bouquet:

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@Nader In reading over this, I'm very curious to know more about your specific project -- the kind of data you collected, how you were collecting it before, the potential impact. I see that you are in Yemen which is exactly the kind of context that ODK tries to be adapted for.

Perhaps you could include a bit more about those topics in your article and/or write it up for the Showcase?

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Hi LN,

you are right.

i will do it.

Best Regards

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