09 – Strengthening Information Systems and Linkages to Care

In a system working at scale where many users may be working offline, repeated changes can result in disruption in the field, different users working with different versions of the system, and inconsistent data being collected. While critical bugs may need to be fixed urgently using hotfixes, it is generally advisable to have a regular release cycle in which new versions of the system are released at a set frequency (e.g. one a week or one a month). This frequency may be high during the initial stages of system deployment, but should become lower over time. With a set schedule, the programme and field teams will know when to expect a new release and what changes to expect in the release. In many systems, releases may require data collected offline using older versions of a system to be uploaded before upgrading to the new version. These dependencies and prerequisites should be clear to all users of the system so that new versions can be released and used without causing disruption.