FIGURE C


Both scripts and users can control alarms. Roll over picture for a larger image.

SRG uses this capability in several interviews, including the Evening Report. Figure D shows the first screen in this report. This report obtains information from the user about the day, including general mood, interesting events, any unreported cigarettes, and so on. The application prompts the user hourly, between 8 PM and 10 PM, until the user completes the report. The Evening Report script reschedules the alarm in case the subject misses it for some reason, and also generates a log entry to note that the subject missed the alarm. (Hey, they're serious about thisÐtoo many missed alarms are grounds for termination from the study!)

FIGURE D


The Evening Report must be completed each day. Roll over picture for a larger image.

As for the alarm volume problem, we spent quite a bit of time wrestling with this. We tried a variety of solutions, and even considered modifying the hardware to get more ooomph out of the speaker. In the end, though, we were able to solve this in software by asserting control over the alarm tone and varying the pitch. By doing this, we came up with a sufficiently obnoxious alarm tone. We made the alarm tone a scriptable element, so that you can create your own tone patterns and control the duration. The SRG researchers knew we had it right when one of them could hear the alarm while travelling in his 60's vintage VW Microbus over the Thanksgiving holiday!

As I mentioned earlier, SRG tracks a subject's cognitive performance for a period of time after smoking cessation. In some cases, researchers have noted a reported decay in perceived mental acuity in the period of time just after quitting. SRG uses a Math Test Assessment, which presents the subject with a series of simple math tasks that are quickly flashed to the subject. The application saves information including the average response time, accuracy, and more.

Eventually, the subject returns to SRG with their PalmPilot, and submits their data. SRG uses our RTAccess data synchronization technology to load the collected information directly into their back-end analytical tools. At that point, the researchers can get busy. Through the entire process, all of the field data is collected and stored on the PalmPilot: no muss, no fuss, no redundant data entry, no paper to lose.

Conclusion
As I write this article, the SRG application is in field test, ready for full rollout. Results to date have been very encouraging, and SRG is excited about its new system. From my perspective, this project has confirmed that the PalmPilot is a robust and capable tool for customized field data collection, and we're already working on several other field data applications, many using RTSurvey as the foundation.

In the coming months, my colleagues and I will be writing about the PalmPilot platform in general, and field data collection in particular, focusing on new and interesting ways you might consider using PalmPilot in your enterprise. If you have any ideas or questions, please let me know.

Stu Slack is a development engineer at The Windward Group. You can contact Stu by writing to slack@wwg.com. You can learn more about Windward at http://www.wwg.com, or by writing to info@wwg.com.