Summary of Developer's Conference Call 5/17/09

• • It is important that all team members in development roles read the wiki article on the integration:
  • http://mobilizemrs.pbworks.com/OpenMRS-Integration

    *Mugisha mentioned xForms

  • xForms is an XML specification for UI design and data processing. This could potentially be used to create forms inside of FSMS:Medic. We should look into this
  • Use Case: clinic already has OpenMRS up and running and has created various forms using xForms for data entry into the database. FSMS:Medic creates mobile equivalents of these forms to be distributed to cell phones.

    *Discussed the possibility of bypassing FrontlineSMS entirely: Forms client --> OMRS module, rather than having Phone talk to FSMS which then talks to OMRS.
    We*vetoed this idea for several reasons:

  • a) FSMS has many features that we absolutely need, like all the text messaging management features (send/recieve/search/etc..), the forms module, potentially mobile diagnostic tools in near future, etc. Most clinics want core FSMS features in addition to using OMRS via FSMS forms client.
  • b) FSMS has as many or more users than OMRS. We hope to get these users involved with OpenMRS, in addition to getting OpenMRS folks involved in mHealth, so we want the integration to go both directions.
  • c) FrontlineSMS has been a great partner for us thus far. We want to continue with this platform because we think their prominence and continued support as an organization will continue to be a positive resource for us.

    *Communication plans:

  • Weekly dev chat:
  • Since Daniel and Mugisha, based in Kampala, do not have high enough bandwidth for Skype voice, we will be having a group skype chat every Tuesday throughout the summer at 9pm Uganda time, 11am Pacific, 2pm East Coast.
  • The next chat will be the 26th of May.
  • Mugisha is still in finals, but the game plan for now is to continue developing a plan of attack. More research, more questions, more refining of features, etc...
  • Important: By the next call, we will (hopefully) begin to sketch a definite plan.