Box 1.

Case Study 1: Personal Digital Assistants—out of date before it’s built

While working on infectious diseases with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Joel Selanikio, a medical doctor, found that the collation of public health data in developing countries was inherently problematic (Banks 2013). The process of dissemination, collation, and analysis of paper-based public health data collection forms could take years—with instances of data never actually being entered into a computer

In 1998, Selanikio identified an opportunity to change the way that data collection occurred and piloted a nutrition survey with US Army nutritionists and Burmese refugees in a Thai refugee camp, using software on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs—mobile devices that allow storage and management of information). Despite having some success in collecting data and publishing (Selanikio et al. 2002) on the use of the PDA software, there was little adoption of the system

Selanikio identified difficulties with the complexity of establishing and using the digital forms. Together with Rose Donna from the American Red Cross, he developed a second simpler data collection system, where data could be collected on a PDA and then collated and analyzed on a computer

In 2009, Selanikio replicated the system but now as a web application—inspired by the rapid global growth of programs such as Hotmail and Google. Soon after this, Selanikio was able to run the system on a mobile phone (rather than a PDA) to compliment the web application. In doing so, individuals were able to access the platform much more cheaply and simply, and across multiple operators. As Selanikio’s system began to grow, the PDA market collapsed—if Selanikio had not continued to pursue cheaper and more accessible technology, the system he had developed would have disappeared with the PDA market collapse

Selanikio’s product development highlights the importance of maintaining an awareness of the technological climate, and ensuring that a project is not focused on a single platform that stands to be influenced by short-term changes or technological advances