Alpha Software Blog



Mobile Data Collection Beats Paper Forms

There’s a long-time saying about data: Garbage-in, garbage-out. It means that the quality of the insights you can glean from data is only as good as the quality of the data itself. And there’s now a new corollary to that truism: The richer, more accurate and more voluminous your data, the more accurate and useful your insights will be.

If your business is still using paper forms, it's time to rip them up and go digital.Both those sayings spell out exactly why if you’re still using paper forms, you’re gathering data the wrong way. Mobile data collection software offers far more accurate data, which yields far more and far richer insights than when you use paper forms.

For just one example of that, consider this blog post, “The Benefits of Using Mobile Technology for Data Collection and Reporting,” from Steve Niro, Business Unit Leader for Operations & Management for the environmental consulting firm Woodward & Curran.

Here are just some of the benefits he cites for moving from paper data collection to mobile data collection: “Errors are significantly reduced, and richer data is collected, including photos, video, GPS coordinates, and automatic date and time stamping. A high level of security can be employed with user authentication, password protection, and automatic backups. This means no more lost forms and data can only be viewed and edited by authorized individuals.”

personalized-mobile-app-solutionsHe points out that mobile data collection tools do more than just yield greater insights — they can help a company move much faster on those insights, often in real-time:

“With a mobile application, data can be immediately validated in the field with notifications if or when an entry falls outside the normal or expected range. In addition, since real-time data is instantly uploaded, managers can be alerted when new information is available or action needs to be taken. Notifications can also be set to send text messages and emails alerting staff when, for example, chemical supplies are low or a permit violation has occurred.”

He's not alone in his view about the ways in which mobile data collection yields richer, more accurate and more useful data than paper-based forms. This is especially true when apps collect data in real-time. Consider what the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency has to say about it:

“There are numerous advantages in using mobile phones in survey data collection. Combined with the knowledge of well-trained supervisors, team leaders, measurers and interviewers, mobile technology has improved the quality of the data collected… Collecting and digitizing data right at the source makes data entry more efficient and cleaner and leads to improved data quality. Experience shows that data collection so far has yielded good or excellent data quality (based on SMART plausibility check) in all surveys conducted with mobile data collection.”

Say goodbye to paper. Speed data collection and improve worker safety with mobile apps.The Best Platform for Creating Mobile Data Collection Apps

Alpha TransForm (free trial and template forms available) is a robust and affordable solution for building mobile data collection apps that work on any mobile device. Alpha TransForm allows both developers and business users to digitize mobile forms of ANY COMPLEXITY for under 1 hour of work per form page.

Coding is optional, so virtually anyone can turn a paper form into a mobile app with the latest smartphone features (camera, QR codes, GPS, time/date stamping, electronic signatures, radio buttons, etc.). Power users can use the built-in programming language and on-device database storage to add more advanced capabilities, such as workflow triggering or pre-loading forms data. And the best part is that Alpha TransForm apps always work offline, so no need to worry about having an internet connection.

With affordable pricing and flexible licensing models, Alpha TransForm lets companies build as many mobile forms as they need for their field team members. Companies use Alpha TransForm to digitize data collection for order intake, inspections, Gemba Walks, 5S Audits, maintenance inspection, punch lists, safety checks, patient data intake and more.

Read why COVID-19 means the end of paper forms.

Prev Post Image
Latest Data on Developers Working at Home: Productivity is Way Up
Next Post Image
Agricultural Safety SaaS App Built With Alpha Anywhere

About Author

Amy Groden-Morrison
Amy Groden-Morrison

Amy Groden-Morrison has served more than 15 years in marketing communications leadership roles at companies such as TIBCO Software, RSA Security and Ziff-Davis. Most recently she was responsible for developing marketing programs that helped achieve 30%+ annual growth rate for analytics products at a $1Bil, NASDAQ-listed business integration Software Company. Her past accomplishments include establishing the first co-branded technology program with CNN, launching an events company on the NYSE, rebranding a NASDAQ-listed company amid a crisis, and positioning and marketing a Boston-area startup for successful acquisition. Amy currently serves as a Healthbox Accelerator Program Mentor, Marketing Committee Lead for the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Launch Smart Clinics, and on the organizing team for Boston TechJam. She holds an MBA from Northeastern University.

Related Posts
Digital Transformation is Tough, but Worth It
Digital Transformation is Tough, but Worth It
What is Supply Chain 4.0, the Digital Supply Chain?
What is Supply Chain 4.0, the Digital Supply Chain?
The Abbreviated Guide to The Digital Data Chain
The Abbreviated Guide to The Digital Data Chain

The Alpha platform is the only unified mobile and web app development and deployment environment with distinct “no-code” and “low-code” components. Using the Alpha TransForm no-code product, business users and developers can take full advantage of all the capabilities of the smartphone to turn any form into a mobile app in minutes, and power users can add advanced app functionality with Alpha TransForm's built-in programming language. IT developers can use the Alpha Anywhere low-code environment to develop complex web or mobile business apps from scratch, integrate data with existing systems of record and workflows (including data collected via Alpha TransForm), and add additional security or authentication requirements to protect corporate data.

Comment