Reply to: Distributed Data Collection Tool

[vetran]

Pretty much the only time sharepoint has any use.

keep thinking that way ! more for the rest of us.

[d000hg]

Ah, if only it were this easy! Tried this on data collection before, didn't count on the ones that wanted to add their own columns, insert empty rows, add colours and then send me an email with their colour codes and what they meant, and so on.

That's why you lock the sheet down

[meridian]

Distributed Data Collection Tool

If everyone saves their spreadsheet as CSV, gluing them together is pretty easy.

But then, pulling data from spreadsheets into a DB wouldn't be too bad either.

Ah, if only it were this easy! Tried this on data collection before, didn't count on the ones that wanted to add their own columns, insert empty rows, add colours and then send me an email with their colour codes and what they meant, and so on.

OP: Excel front end onto an Access database? http://www.datawright.com.au/excel_r...ss_and_ado.htm

[rob s]

Sharepoint?

Pretty much the only time sharepoint has any use.

[vetran]

Sharepoint?

[d000hg]

If everyone saves their spreadsheet as CSV, gluing them together is pretty easy.

But then, pulling data from spreadsheets into a DB wouldn't be too bad either.

[minestrone]

Just leave the file in a shared folder and say that the only person that can edit it is the one that holds the wooden spoon, then leave a wooden spoon on your desk with 'edit' written on it.

If they want a ridiculous solution give them a ridiculous solution.

[MarillionFan]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a simple to roll out tool for distributed data collection.

And by this i mean rather than sending a number of Excel spreadsheet round to 100 people in 20 different offices to collect their input then have the nightmare of collating the results has any one used any simple to roll out tools that people can connect to via say excel or presented on a web page to add their input whilst the results are maintained centrally?

Developement resource is a bit scare so something that would require developers to build something from scratch is probably out of the question.

One solution i know we could use is Microsoft MDM as it has a simple excel addin, and we will infact be be implementing it as part of the project but it requires a server upgrade to SQL Enterprise version which is going to take a while to get through procurement and installed so ideally looking for something that can be rolled out quicker

Cheers

Google Docs.

[yasockie]

Ah ok i didn't realise that, in that case it would do the trick from a technical point of view however i think it will be a non starter as that means putting corporate data offsite which will be a no-no as some of it is potentially sensitive, and we'd need a corporate google account rather than a personal one.

Again a good option but not quite right for my particular scenario, again i appreciate the suggestion

If somehow Google Docs was options, they also have google forms, which is editing a spreadsheet behind the scenes.
There is also similar functionality from Office 365 if that's easier to push through the red tape.

Failing that, email everyone an excel spreadsheet and write MACRO to combine the results. If you do so, don't forget to use the 80's Motorola phone and print out the result on a needle printer, for a complete retro solution.

[Fandango]

Ah ok i didn't realise that, in that case it would do the trick from a technical point of view however i think it will be a non starter as that means putting corporate data offsite which will be a no-no as some of it is potentially sensitive, and we'd need a corporate google account rather than a personal one.

Again a good option but not quite right for my particular scenario, again i appreciate the suggestion

[Ticktock]

The problem with sticking a file somewhere is concurrency, you get into a mess with numerous people trying to open the same spreadsheet and editing it and overwriting each others work. and having 20 copies of the same thing trying to merge again is and admin nightmare.

Yes, but with Google Docs everyone can open the spreadsheet at the same time, only a cell currently being edited is locked, and everyone sees the updates in realtime.

[Fandango]

The problem with sticking a file somewhere is concurrency, you get into a mess with numerous people trying to open the same spreadsheet and editing it and overwriting each others work. and having 20 copies of the same thing trying to merge again is and admin nightmare.

I'm not sure SurveyMonkey is quite what i need, but i appreciate the suggestion. Ideally i need a web page that allows them to mass edit a table presented to them. i think i might look at LightSwitch in VisualStudio, it seems to be a rapid development tool which might fit the bill.

[yasockie]

Use surveymonkey?
There's more elaborate tools out there with full FSM, if you need to specify some rules about what they're filling in (for example no question 'how many doors?' if they answered 'a motorcycle')

[Ticktock]

I'm not technical enough to know whether this answers it, but if one solution would have been to send multiple spreadsheets about to different people, instead couldn't you just set up a single file in Google Docs and let everyone who needs to edit it?

[Fandango]

It's to collect data about transformation\mappings for a large data migration. So basically a large number of simple spreadsheet tables with columns that need filling in.

Not very complex, but data that needs input from a wide range of people distributed across multiple offices