The Use of Mobile Geotag Technology in Driving Project Performance at Scale

Abstract

The monitoring of any project at scale becomes challenging issue and most of the monitoring systems are not strong enough to effectively monitor the project across difficult geographies. Monitoring at scale is a daunting task with hard to reach population and places in any given project implementation. However, projects suffer at large because of weaker monitoring system in difficult areas. Thus, Project management becomes challenging and project fails to deliver results especially when implemented at scale. The fact we all know if any project is not monitored through robust systems, project performance gets compromised. Nonetheless, where no one watching the activities it is highly likely the quality of project implementation and project management gets questioned. What could be done to build a system of project monitoring on the real-time basis and with virtual access, where one can remotely observe and track activities in the ground and on real time basis, with 100%, reach using the technology. The simple use of mobile technology built on Global Positioning System (GPS) can use Geotagging to find and link with variety of location-specific information from a device, can find images taken near a given location by entering latitude and longitude and photos can be linked to location specific information with the time stamp when and where the activity was precisely done. For monitoring of the Bihar Handwashing Programme at scale the Geotag applications has been developed along with web portal with an Android based application which serves the interface for the on-field teams to capture activity data. The application has been built with various control features to ensure that only the desired users have access to the relevant data. This is being done by way of mapping individual mobile phones via IMEI codes to Unique User IDs (Team IDs). This mapping ensures that no duplication of work is observed on the field, and one user may only access and operate upon the data pertaining to related user. The data captured on real time basis can be viewed in web portal and help program to interpret data in meaningful manner. It also ensures the quality of the programme is consistently maintained with robust monitoring system. As a result, so far over 0.4 million contacts have been rejected against the 2.7 million reached. The data collected gets audited and reviewed with external auditors and the auditors follow the operational procEducres where each photo gets validated to match with activities and sessions, and contacts get rejected if it is not matching in defined procEducres so this makes ongoing monitoring very powerful, and controls the quality of program implementation. The data automatically is synced to a web portal and is used at all levels to track program performance and also reward programme staff accordingly. Geotag system design helps in rEduccing fraud while it is cost effective. Through the inbuilt online live dash board in web portal, it helps the project to take data driven decisions for improving project performance at scale. The external evaluations conducted so far indicates that this system have substantially provided data points to improve project performance.