For this post, I am going to reflect on my reading of “Open Source Data Collection in the Developing World” from Computer, volume 42 (2009). The article discusses the efficacy of Open Data Kit (ODK) as a means to use mobile devices in developing countries for data collection. Data collection, they argue, enables local officials, humanitarian organizations, and citizens to make well-informed decisions. The authors cite the inefficiencies of earlier tools, claiming that they lacked the means to acquire “essential data” from the user’s device and that developers could not easily adapt these tools to collect forms of data other than text. As such, they aimed to develop ODK to address some of these issues.
As of 2009, ODK consisted of three main components: ODK Collect, ODK Aggregate, and ODK Manage, all of which function within a system designed to allow users to configure ODK to meet specific needs. As such, ODK relies on the development paradigms of component-based software engineering as well as configuration application systems. To illustrate the efficacy of the ODK software system, the authors highlight its usage in the AMPATH program in Kenya. Simply put, ODK allowed AMPATH to conduct Home-Based Counseling and Testing (HCT) for HIV with much greater ease. Not only did ODK allow doctors to carry only one device to people’s homes (an Android device), but it allowed them to skip the step of entering their collected data into Microsoft Office for upload to the OpenMRS medical system.
To my surprise, ODK is still used today. According to their GitHub page, it is currently used by the “World Health Organization, Red Cross, Carter Center, Google, and many more…” I find it interesting, although in hindsight expected that I happened to come across this article. I was able, by chance, to find the initial point of deployment and analysis for a software I was unaware of despite it being long-lasting and far-reaching. Likewise, the GitHub repositories for ODK’s different components appear to be quite active with many contributors; people are still contributing and trying to make the software better 12 years after it was initially released. ODK then serves as a testament to the potential long-lasting efficacy of FOSS.
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