Week 3: Digital Development

9

How many principles of digital development are there?

Principle No. 1 Design with the User

This is different from designing for the user. This can only be attained through conversation, observation, and co-creation with the people, client, or target market who will be using the eventual digital product or tools.

Effective computerized activities are established in a comprehension of client attributes, needs and difficulties.

Principle No. 1 Design with the User

The core tenets of this principle are as follows:

• It should incorporate multiple user types and stakeholders in each phase of the project lifecycle to direct feature needs and revise the design.

• It should have clear objectives and be open to a process of repitition

• It should improve users’ current processes

• And aside from considering the needs of the underserved, it should always be open to people opting out of the design process

Principle No. 2 Understand the Existing Ecosystem

According to this principle, the ecosystem is political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal, and other factors within the group or geographical location where the final design product will be used. It is important to note that the ecosystem is everchanging, requiring that digital developers check and analyze their assumptions.

Principle No. 2 Understand the Existing Ecosystem

The Core tenets of this principle are the following:

• Coordination, consultation, and constant engagement with civil society groups, the government, or all stakeholders from the start of the project until project completion to avoid duplication and ensure smooth intergration with the existing technical system, if any.

Principle No. 3 Design for Scale.

According to this principle, the elusiveness of achieving scale is a goal that has been hard for digital developers because of pilotitis. The mHealth describes it as the inability to move initiatives beyond the pilot stage. Therefore, from the start it is a must to __________.

Principle No. 3 Design for Scale.

This principle means planning and strategizing beyond the pilot stage. Aside from the obvious concern about funding the initiative and continuously funding it after the pilot stage, digital developers must consider its usability and bottom-line affordability to achieve scale in the future.

Principle No. 3 Design for Scale.

The Core tenet of this principle is the following:

• Design and Plan for Scale from the start. Keep the design simple but flexible and adaptable. Devise a funding model that incorporates the partners who can help fund and sustain the initiative. And remember to demonstrate the impact after gathering enough evidence that validates the initiative before any attempt to scale.

Pilotitis

It is described by the mHealth describes it as the inability to move initiatives beyond the pilot stage.

Principle No. 4 Build for Sustainability.

Very closely related to designing for scale is building for sustainability because this fourth principle is about ensuring user and stakeholder support is maximized and uninterupted. Working hand-in-hand with NGOs, Corporations, or the government ensures that the initiatives achieves institutionalization in the policies, processes, and user workflow.

Principle No. 4 Build for Sustainability.

According to this principle, building sustainable programs, platforms and digital tools is essential to maintain user and stakeholder support, as well as to maximize long-term impact. Sustainability ensures that user and stakeholder contributions are not minimized due to interruptions, such as loss of funding. A program built for sustainability is more likely to be embedded into policies, daily practices and user workflow.

Principle No. 4 Build for Sustainability.

The core tenets of this principle are the following:

• Plan, build, and implement a sustainable model from the start. Collaborate and engage with all stakeholders, particularly partners, for funding. And design a program that is adaptive to changed in user context.

Principle No. 5 Be Data Driven

According to this principle, No amount of data will lead to accelerated impact if it is not used to inform decision making. When an initiative is data driven, quality of information is available to the right people when they need it, and they are using those data to take action the data procuded by a digital initiative should be used for more than just outputs, such as published work or donor reporting.

Principle No. 5 Be Data Driven

According to this principle, Informed decisions by the decision-makers can only be achieved if the initiative is data-driven. Data produced and collected from such as those from surveillance, research, operations, project management, and even secondary sources enable the right people to make the right course of action.

Principle No. 5 Be Data Driven

The core tenets of this principle is:

• Always design with a focus on the outcome, which is measurable and incremental. Like starting the initiative where developers engage all stakeholders, data sourcing, collection, and analysis must also be holistic. It must also bridge the knowledge gaps within the development communicty and adhere to international interoperability standards.

Principle No. 6 Use Open Standards, Open data, Open Source, and Open Innovation

According to this principle, too often, scarce public and international development resources are spent investing in new software code, tools, data collection, content and innovations for sector-specific solutions that are locked away behind licensing fees, with data only used by and available to specific initiatives. An open way to deal with computerized improvement can build coordinated effort in the advanced improvement group and abstain from copying work that has just been finished.

Principle No. 6 Use Open Standards, Open data, Open Source, and Open Innovation

According to this principle, more often than not, digital content and innovations are locked away behind licensing fees only to be used and available to specific sectors. To help increase collaboration in the digital development world, an open approach through open source technologies, open innovation, open data, and open standards that still into account the practical, technical, security, and and privacy constraints should be the way to go.

Principle No. 6 Use Open Standards, Open data, Open Source, and Open Innovation

The core tenets of this principle are

• Develop new digital codes or technologies that are freely viewed, copied, modified, shared, and distributed on open or public platforms. Similarly, adapt and expand on open data, standards, or innovations done by other digital developers in the community. This enables wide collaboration and co-creation of software systems, and tools.

Principle No. 7 Reuse and Improve

According to this principle, instead of starting from scratch, programs that ‘‘reuse and improve’’ look for ways to adapt and enhance existing products, resources and approaches.

• Reuse means assessing what resources are currently available and using them as they are to meet program goals.

• Improve means modifying existing tools, products and resources to improve their overall quality, applicability, and impact.

Principle No. 7 Reuse and Improve

This principle is very much related to the 6th principle. Reusing and imrpoving existing or currently available resource tools, or product greatly make you more efficient because of reduced development and testing costs. Your improvement of the existing technology will help the global development community once you have shared it openly.

Principle No. 7 Reuse and Improve

The core tenet of this principle are the following:

• Identify and evaluate existing tools or software used by your target market or users and see how you will be able to improve them. Ensure that what you reuse, develop, and improve on will also be easily adopted and further improved by others.

Principle No. 8 Address Privacy & Security

According to this principle, addressing privacy and security in digital development involves careful consideration of which data are collected and how data are acquired, used, stored and shared.

Organizations must take measures to minimized collection and to protect confidential information and identities of individuals represented in data sets from unauthorized access and manipulation by third parties

Principle No. 8 Address Privacy & Security

This principle involves the careful consideration of which data are collected and how they are stored and shared.

• Organizations or entities collecting data should be responsible enough to be transparent in collecting and using personal data.

• Security measures and policies that protect and uphold an individual’s dignity and privacy should be in place and made known to the individual.

Principle No. 8 Address Privacy & Security

The core tenets of this principle are the following:

• Consider and understand the risks by performing a risk-benefit analysis for countries and individuals, and communities who would be impacted positively or negatively if the data collected leacks out.

• Always keep the best interest of the individuals or end-users, particularly their privacy and security, before collecting any data.

• It is imperative to define who will own the data, who will have access, and how collected data will be used before any data can be collected or captured.

• Always implement an informed consent so that participants understand why data is being collected and that they have an option to refuse participation

Reuse

It means assessing what resources are currently available and using them as they are to meet program goals.

Improve

It means modifying existing tools, products and resources to improve their overall quality, applicability, and impact.

Principle No. 9 Be Collaborative

According to this principle, being collaborative means sharing information, insights, strategies and resources accross projects, organizations and sectors, leading to increased efficiency and impact.

This principle brings all the others together in practice. People working in digital development have a shared vision to create a better world, and collaboration is essential to making this vision a reality.

Principle No. 9 Be Collaborative

This principle not only brings other principles together but is actually part and parcel of each and every principle of digital development. Simply put, collaboration is the sharing of strategies, insights, and information across individuals, sectors, projects, and organizations leading to increased impact and efficiency of the initiative.

Principle No. 9 Be Collaborative

The core tenets of this principle are the following:

• Engage with local and international and international partners, leaders, experts, and organizations across disciplines, industries, and countries in all phases of the project life cycle.

• Document and share findings and advancements in a Creative Commons License, as well as participate in conferences of the digital community.