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Where: Dakar, Senegal - PATH Headquarters

When: July 19-21, 2017

Table of Contents

Workshop Facilitators

Dr. Olivier Defawe, VillageReach, HQ

Mr. Clement Ngombo, VillageReach, DRC

Mrs. Tenly Snow, VillageReach, HQ

Overview

12 13 attendees from Ministry of Health Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) programs, plus WHO International representation, attended this 3-day workshop on user-centered software design in Dakar, hosted at the PATH Senegal Headquarters.

Participants came from the following francophone countries:

• Benin
• Cote d'Ivoire
• DRC
• Guinea
• Senegal

The workshop was specifically focused on the workflows and data elements associated with decision-making for resupplying vaccines, and had three primary objectives:

1. Define and understand the processes for resupplying vaccines
2. Define the workflows and data required for good vaccine resupply management
3. Create prototypes responding to these workflows in order to inform the development of the vaccine module in OpenLMIS

Participants

As a user-centered design workshop, this workshop challenged participants to think creatively about not only the processes involved in typical decision-making for resupplying vaccines in both push and pull supply chain systems, but also about the personas within that supply chain and how they would interact with an electronic system. Participants were challenged to think about their experiences in new ways, and use that experience to define workflows, tasks, and ultimately prototypes for the vaccine module currently under development in OpenLMIS. 

Over the three days, the workshop enjoyed highly interactive breakout session and lively discussions. Rules of engagement for the workshop included a no-laptop policy, respectful dialogue, and comprehension voting using red, yellow, and green cards. Most importantly, this workshop will help define the next releases of OpenLMIS, specifically for the vaccine module, and will contribute greatly to the usability and functionality of the system - helping OpenLMIS to meet user's actual needs in real-life situations. 

^{(photos by Tenly Snow and Clement Ngombo)}

What's Next? 

• Distillation & software development: The outcome of the 3-day workshop is a set of process maps, design recommendations, mock-ups, and user personas (idealized system users) that will directly inform development of the user interface and functionality for OpenLMIS. Information collected at this workshop is currently being digested and cataloged into the OpenLMIS wiki by the OpenLMIS global team. The team will take this information and distill it into specific requirements and software development assignments, incorporating input from the OpenLMIS governing committees in this process. The team will follow up with stakeholders on any key open questions and leverage the expertise of the group and networks to further refine the user stories.This will result in user-driven resupply features built into OpenLMIS to be released over the next six months.  
  
  
• Stakeholder feedback: This workshop was an opportunity for VillageReach and the OpenLMIS software development team to collect feedback from country EPI staff on specific user needs and for participants to work together within the design framework to inform the optimal user experience for the OpenLMIS vaccine functionality system.
  
  While the Copenhagen prioritization workshop focused on understanding high-level system functionality needs and priorities, the User Design Workshop focused on understanding the users, deconstructing the resupply process, and designing appropriate user interfaces (UI) for the end users. Including user needs and collaborative design processes is essential for the success of OpenLMIS in improving and supporting EPI logistics processes.
  
  The OpenLMIS team is staying in close contact with the Senegal Workshop participants and is dedicated to continue incorporating their expert opinions and experience in the ressuply feature set. The participant group has already been highly responsive to questions asked by the OpenLMIS team, and we look forward to continuing this collaborative process.
  
  
• Additional user design activities: In addition to this workshop, the OpenLMIS team is looking into conducting additional workshops on other domains and features and/or smaller engagements with specific country teams to collect similar feedback. These would take place in the first and second quarter of FY 2018. 
  
  
• OpenLMIS 3.3 Release: This work is all part of building OpenLMIS v3.3, focused on adding vaccine functionality and enhancing existing stock management, resupply, and other functionality for a full-featured electronic LMIS for vaccines.  

Resources on OpenLMIS feature set and vaccine functionality:

Please see the Vaccine MVP page for complete details on the OpenLMIS feature development for the vaccine module. 

Please see the Living Product Roadmap for feature development timelines and details. 

^{(photos by Tenly Snow and Clemént Ngombo)} 

Key Topics Discussed and Outcomes

The following section is for the community to think through and determine the best way to address and follow up going forward to ensure the success of adoption of OpenLMIS in supporting the management of the vaccine supply chain. 

• Vaccine resupply processes: During the workshop, participants worked through the creation of process maps outlining the resupply process for vaccines in both Allocation (push) and Requisition (pull) based systems. Key elements for the OpenLMIS community and committees to think through regarding these processes are:
  • Which data elements are necessary for these processes
  • What data would users and program managers like to see in order to best manage their vaccine supply chains 
  • How do these processes fit into the overall OpenLMIS tool, and how can OpenLMIS leverage partner experience in developing VIMS and similar systems? 
  
  
• Mapping, Prototyping and Mockups: A major activity during the workshop was performing process mapping, task analysis, and simple prototyping of certain key functions within the resupply process flow. Next steps regarding this work:
  • Workshop facilitators and OpenLMIS program associates have already started processing and translating the outputs from the group. Consolidated outputs will be posted publically once they are ready to be shared.
  • Digest and analyze the task analyses and prototypes that participants built, identifying which areas can inform OpenLMIS vaccine module software development? 

Feedback from Attendees

Evaluation forms from attendees submitted in person at the close of the workshop showed that overall participants were very satisfied with the achievement of the workshop objectives. 

12/12 respondents submitted evaluations, and in response to the question, "How likely are you to recommend the OpenLMIS Vaccine Module for countries/programs you work with," the great majority of participants responded with a score of 8 out of 10, indicating that most participants were highly likely to recommend the tool. The graph below shows the evaluation responses on this particular question (on the scale, 10 is most likely to recommend and 1 is least likely.)

^{(photo by Tenly Snow)}

Agenda

Day 1 

Day 2

Topic	Presentation	Notes
Process Mapping	For this activity, the workshop attendees divided into two groups: One group handled Requisition (or "pull" processes for resupply) and the other mapped out Allocation ("push" processes for resupply). Each group had a facilitator who guided the discussions and helped facilitate dialogue when participants found areas of disagreement.  Requisition Process Map  Allocation Process Map
Presentation of Process Maps	Each process map (Requisition and Allocation) was presented by the "Chef de Village" - or "Village Chief" - of each group. The Village Chief was a participant elected by each group's members as the group's voice and presenter. Following the creation of the process maps by each group, all participants reconvened for a presentation of the outcomes and to answer questions.
Voting on Key Tasks within Process Maps	At the end of day 2, participants were given small stickers and they participated in a voting process. They visited each process map and were allowed four total votes. They were asked to vote on the areas within each process flow map that they felt were the most important to capture within an electronic system, could create the most bottlenecks, or were generally important areas of activity within the vaccine resupply process flow.  Requisition Voting Outcome Allocation Voting Outcome Needs estimation/evaluation at Region and District Analysis and validation of orders received from health facilities Determination of quantity to send from Region to District and from District to Health Facility  Region and District level allocation dashboard
Introduction to Prototyping	View file name 6. Creation de Prototypes.pdf height 250

Day 3

Topic	Presentation	Notes
Task Analysis & Prototyping	View file name 7. Jour 3 Prototypage.pdf height 250
Presentation of Prototypes	Requisition Prototype Allocation Prototype
Workshop Close