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Alidade

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STEP 1

What is your project's objective?
Why do you need a technology tool to achieve this objective?
Who do you expect to use the tool?
Recap

STEP 2

Your technical requirements
Which existing tools have the features you need?
Which projects have used technology to do similar things?
What could go wrong?
Decide on the best option
Think twice before you build a new tool
Recap

STEP 3

Create a user story
Plan a trial
What did you learn?
What do you need to change?
Recap - Do you need any more help?

STEP 4

What kind of help do you need?
What attributes should they have?
Who could give you the help you need?
Make a shortlist
What could go wrong?
Set up a strong working relationship
Recap

CONGRATULATIONS

BACK: Recap

2.0 Step 2

This step helps you define what you need a tool to do, and research what options are available.

You will complete three activities:

Write down everything your tool needs to do.
Find tools that do what you need.
List projects that have used similar tools.

research

Organisations often made these mistakes:

1. They hardly ever considered more than one tool.
2. They rarely conducted user research as well as tool research.
3. Most stretched, and some completely exceeded, their own capacity when adopting new tools. Initiatives often felt that they lacked enough expertise to make informed choices.

For more, read the research report.

case study

An organization hired a developer to create a tool but didn't specify that it needed to allow offline access. The problem was only discovered late in the project, and the entire tool needed to be re-designed.

Created by The Engine Room, the Network Society Lab and Mtaani Initiative based at Pawa254.

Built by The Engine Room

Produced with support from Making All Voices Count (MAVC).

Acknowledgements

Get a non-interactive version of Alidade in Google Doc form.

Learn more about the research

Part of an in-depth research project on how Kenyan and South African transparency and accountability organisations choose technology.

Send us feedback on the tool

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