Activity Report Form (ARF)
Client
Details
The Activity Report Form (aka The ARF) is an internal activity tracking application that I created for the librarians of the Health Sciences Library. The librarians need to see statistics, reports, and trends on the types of activities they engage in and the groups they interact with. The previous solution used a web based form from a third party provider that we customized. After capturing the data I was required to import the data into Excel each month and fiddle with the input and output to make it look the right way. Ugh!
Ruby on Rails to the rescue! In two months, working on my own, I had created a prototype that allowed the librarians to enter data and gather statistics and reports directly on the web without the need to use Excel. Not only that but snapshots of the data could be taken for any time period and variable thanks to the custom dynamic query form I created.
Later on I added some custom report views suitable for printing and an “Export to Excel” option for folks who need it. Additionally, I was able to integrate XML/SWF Charts for nice line graphs. I am now porting the graphing feature to Plotkit in order to remove the Flash plugin requirement.
Skills Used
Ruby on Rails, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, graphic design, user-centered design, accessibility
What I Would Do Differently Today
The design is very plain and could use some pep. Yes, it’s a statistics application, but a splash of color and some nice icons wouldn’t hurt.
