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SOFTWARE REVIEWS
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eListen review by Dirk Dusharme
Surveys can be as hard to design and layout as they are to deploy, collect and analyze. But with Scantron's eListen survey builder, survey creators can design a survey; deploy it via diskette, LAN, e-mail or Web; collect the data from the same sources; and analyze the data, all from a Windows 95 or NT computer. The eListen survey builder consists of a layout screen, where survey questions, graphics, text, etc. are laid out, and the survey tree, a hierarchical structure that shows all the elements in the builder and the survey questions' order. Users place questions in the builder by dragging and dropping from a library of stock questions or by using the insert function from the menu bar to insert their own questions. eListen supports radio buttons (select one), drop-down list boxes (select one or select many), check boxes (select one or select many) or text questions. It also supports statement ranking. For simple questionnaires that have the same available answers for each question, eListen can create a table with answers across the top and questions down the left side. Users can also assign a weight to any question for use with later data analysis. A nice feature allows users to create help text for each question. This feature allows survey questions to be concise, and yet provide survey takers with more information on demand. Two features add to eListen's functionality. The first, conditional branching, allows survey creators to design surveys that dynamically administer questions based on user response to the current question, something that normally cannot be done on self-administered paper tests. The second feature, validation, allows survey creators to ensure that responses fall within certain parameters. It can be as simple as not allowing blank responses or can involve complex Boolean or mathematical functions. Aside from eListen's great functionality in survey design, the software does have some flaws. Inserting a question places the question at the end of the survey, which is correct. However, pasting or dragging a question from the library plants the question at random locations on the current page, and not always in view. And, unlike most Windows programs, dragging an object to the edge of the screen does not force the screen to automatically scroll. These two problems make rearranging the layout frustrating. It's possible to work around the problems, however, and Scantron is addressing some of these issues in the version 1.5 release, due out this month. The program excels in deployment. In the case of diskette deployment, the person taking the survey runs the included viewer, takes the survey and sends the diskette back. On a LAN, the survey taker runs the viewer and takes the survey, and all responses are collected in a central location on the network. The e-mail version of the survey is sent as embedded text in an e-mail. The survey taker fills in the boxes on the survey and e-mails it back. As excellent as those deployment methods are, the most useful is the Web deployment. Anybody with a Web browser can access the survey, regardless of what computer they are using (the diskette and LAN versions require Windows 95, 98 or NT). And, if you use Scantron's autohosting feature ($25 per month), survey deployment is literally as easy as clicking a button, and it works flawlessly. Autohosting also provides data analysis directly from Scantron's Web site. If you need further analysis, Scantron will send the raw data on CD-ROM or allow you to download it--all for a fee, of course. You can also host the survey from your own Web site. The program does have layout limitations when it comes to Web deployment. What you see on the builder screen is definitely not what you get in your browser. It takes a little experimentation to get a handle on how eListen creates Web pages. After that, you can almost get the look you want. Scantron is addressing the WYSIWYG issue in the program's next update. Also, although you may drag a question to a different location on the builder screen, once the survey is Web-deployed, the question still appears in the order in which it was created. Question order can only be changed by changing its order in the survey tree. When surveys are deployed locally or on your own Web site, eListen uses a data-pump to load survey results into its analysis package. This can be done manually or automatically as each survey comes in, allowing real-time analysis of results. Analysis functions include frequency distributions, cross-tabulations, response details and response summaries, complete with bar and pie charts. Despite the builder interface idiosyncrasies, eListen is an excellent tool. Easy deployment and data collection make it a snap to deliver surveys and analyze results.
Hand-Held Data Collection review by Dirk Dusharme
One such application, PocketLog, from Tescina Inc., streamlines shop-floor data collection for those companies that don't have networked data-collection systems and must rely on manual data collection. PocketLog eliminates many of the data-collection transcription errors associated with manual data collection. Utilizing any off-the-shelf Palm computer, PocketLog lets the user enter data exactly the way it appears on the data display of the device being monitored. The Palm application visually mimics any type of analog gage: circular, semicircular, arc, horizontal or vertical. Using a stylus, the user simply selects the point on the scale represented on the Palm computer. Alternatively, the user can input the numeric value. Notes and messages are also supported. Later, this data is downloaded from the Palm computer into any Windows 95, 98 or NT computer for SPC processing. For steps where the user must enter choices from a list, visual inspection, for instance, PocketLog allows the creation of drop-down lists. When users get to that step, they click on the drop-down menu and then click on one of the displayed choices. PocketLog only allows the user to make one selection from the drop-down list. We would like to have seen the capability to select more than one choice. The PocketLog consists of two components, the Windows application for system administration and programming, and the Palm computer application, which is what the user uses to input readings from process steps. Programming the Palm computer for a particular process is simple. The easiest way is to walk through the entire process in the same way the person collecting the data would. The process is designed in the PocketLog Windows application and then uploaded to the Palm computer. Programmers enter the location where the first readings take place and then input the process steps to be monitored. They then design the virtual gage for the Palm computer that will mimic the measurement device being used. This involves selecting the basic gage type, range, limits, tick marks and units. There is a bit of a learning curve to understanding how PocketLog uses the gage-design information you give it. But once you get the hang of it, designing a gage takes less than a minute. PocketLog purports to give you complete control over defining gages, and we were able to describe most gage types. The only drawback is that the gage cannot be previewed on the Windows computer in which it was designed. The designer must load the application into the Palm computer to see what it looks like--a minor inconvenience that Tescina says will be addressed in a later software release. In use, the person taking the readings would walk to each process step; record the serial number, lot, batch, run, etc., record a reading, select from a list or make notes and then move on to the next step. The only data entry drawback we detected is PocketLog's inability to undo data input in a step once you have moved on to the next step. The user has to make a note to tell the administrator to delete or change that record once it has been downloaded. Once the user is finished, he or she takes the Palm computer back to a Windows computer and synchronizes it to the PocketLog database on the PC. Data can be viewed directly from PocketLog. The administrator can clean up or manipulate data and then export the data to any third-party SPC program for analysis. On an administrative level, the administrator can set up any number of users. Users may all use the same process files or different files. When the user's Palm computer is synched to the Windows PC, PocketLog downloads any data from the Palm computer and asks permission to upload the latest version of the process, if it has changed. PocketLog will track user activity by session (each trip out with the Palm computer) or process (which process or version of a process did the user use). PocketLog fills a niche between automated data-collection systems and proprietary hand-held systems, which are designed to work with specific equipment and/or software. For much less money, PocketLog provides a simple-to-design-and-use interface for any manual data-collection application, although with fewer bells and whistles. For companies that want to ease the burden of manual data collection, are cost-conscious or don't want to be locked into a particular product or system, PocketLog deserves a look.
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