Introduction
This article provides information about AssureGO+, the Evotix mobile web app.
What is AssureGO+?
AssureGO+ is a progressive web application software delivered through the web (as opposed to being an application that has to be installed). AssureGO+ is built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS and JavaScript and is intended to work on any platform that uses a standard-compliant browser.
Why does AssureGO+ differ from a native app?
The browser user interface (UI) reacts to the device it is being accessed from, so the forms and content change to make the best use of the screen size available. They tend to look nice!
The UI can be different between tablet, mobile and desktop. Users get access to updates as soon as they are released and there is no need to wait for the app store release. It is easier to access, with no need to download and install applications on devices.
What does AssureGO+ do?
AssureGO+ provides access to Assure portal forms anytime, anywhere and on any device that has a compatible browser. Access is shared with anyone via a URL or QR code; they don’t have to be an Assure system user. AssureGO+ doesn’t require authentication, so users who have an Assure user account won’t need to log in to access shared portal forms.
The URL can be added as an icon to the user’s home screen to provide a quick access link to launch the application in a full screen experience.
How is it different to the current Portal?
- Responsive (desktop, tablet, mobile)
- Ability to work offline
- No custom submission messages
- No published quick reports
- Each portal dashboard has its own URL (therefore switching between dashboards can only be done by knowing the URL)
Can access be limited to specific forms?
No. A user can be initially directed to a specific form via an URL, however once they have completed that form they will be returned to the portal homepage which gives them access to all the forms on that Portal.
If you have need for specific forms to be available to user groups you may want to look at creating separate AssureGO+ portals for each of the user groups, i.e. one to onboard contractors, one for general workforce, one for management.
How do I complete and submit a form?
Stage 1: Accessing the Home page
Enter the URL into the browser. When the page loads the user will be presented with a list of questionnaire's they would like to be able to complete when they are offline. The user can select as many as they need then click the 'ok' button to save these to the device, once the save process has complete select the 'done' button.
The user will now see the Home page of AssureGo+.
Stage 2: Questionnaire selection
From the list presented on the home page the user can click on a questionnaire to complete, on click a popup will appear asking the user to "Start form" or "cancel".
Start form - this will take the user into the questionnaire itself.
Cancel - this will take the user back to the home page.
If the user's device has no internet connection 'offline' then only records that were marked as available offline are able to be completed.
Stage 3: Navigation of the form
When inside the questionnaire the user will be presented with the initial questions that have been configured.
Within the form, any questions marked with a red star * are mandatory and must be completed. If any of these fields have not been completed a validation message will appear when they try to submit the record.
When the initial page has been fully completed the user can use the 'Next' button to move to the following section or the 'Cancel' button if they want to go back to the Home page.
Users can also use the back arrow button on the top left corner of the screen to go back to the home page.
Once a form has been fully completed and the user is on the last page they will see the 'Submit' button, this when selected will process the record onto Assure.
Stage 4: Complete the form
This stage will cover the areas from IQ questionnaire, different sections of the templates / fields / Notes and Comments / Attachments / Picklists / Actions / Signatures.
When a form has been selected by the user to complete, they will have varying fields to complete, the field types may vary depending on how the questionnaire has been configured.
Org Unit This field allows the user to select the correct area of the organisation they are attached too. To select an org unit the user will click on the org unit button, which will display a new modal with a list of the org units inside. If the user knows the name they require they can use the search box which will filter to any units with the name input the user will then click on the correct org unit then click ok. Alternatively they can navigate through the list.
Date fields will appear as three(3) individual boxes with a 'today' button, depending on the date format that has been set these will display as DD MM YYYY or MM DD YYYY. The today button if selected will populate the current day into the fields.
Time fields will appear as two (2) boxes with a 'now' button if the date format is set to for example to UK layout HH MM this is a 24 hour clock and allows the hours of 00:00 to 23:59.
If the date format is for example US then the field will be displayed as two(2) boxes and an AM/PM drop down, the hours for this layout will only accept the hours of 1:00 to 12:59 and AM/PM can be selected.
For both time fields if the user clicks on the 'Now' button the current time will be populated in the field.
Picklists when this field is used on a questionnaire it will be displayed as a drop down where there is more than five (5) items. If it has less than five (5) items then they will be displayed on the form with radio buttons for the user to select from.
If no items are in the picklist a message will display advising 'There are no configured values for this picklist', this could either be down to an Org Unit not being selected, the picklist being empty or items being assigned to specific Org Units. If the field is mandatory and this message is displayed the user should contact there internal administrator.
Text fields user are able to input any form of text in these fields. On each of the captions the fields display how many characters are allowed to be entered into each.
Numeric fields this field type will only accept numeric values this can be whole or decimal numbers. If characters are entered into the field then validation will appear.
Boolean fields these are questions that are either true or false / yes or no. This type of question only allows for one selection to be made.
iQ Template fields if an iQ template has been attached to the questionnaire depending on the template type the fields used within this can vary depending on the configuration. The fields used can be Text, Numeric, Single Select and Multi Select.
- Text this allows for text to be input to the answers and depending on the configuration of the template it may have a minimum and maximum limit, AssureGO+ will advise the user what these are.
- Numeric this will only allow for the numeric values to be input and depending on the configuration the steps allowed will vary for example if it has been set up to only allow numbers from 0 to 5 and the user can only use the steps of 1 then the field will go from 0,1,2,3,4,5. validation will appear if the user selects outside the range set.
- Single Select based on the question this field will only allow for one of the answers from the list to be selected.
- Multi Select this field will allow for multiple answers to be selected from a list that is provided
Comments can be added where configured on an iQ template this is a text field. To add a comment the user clicks the button and then enters the required text to the field.
Notes these can be added by clicking on the notes button, a popup dialogue box will appear and the user can enter text to the field, to save the note the user will press 'ok' for the box to close. If the user wants to remove any note they can select the bin icon on the note. To edit the note the user can click on the note and then make the required changes.
Actions like Assure itself actions can be added to records either for the main record or inside an iQ template if configured. To create an action the user can click on the button and a dialogue box will appear. The user will be required to complete the form then clicking ok for it to be added. If the user would like to remove any action then they can click on the bin icon on the form. If the user needs to edit the details they can click on the action.
Attachments if set on the questionnaire the user will be able to click on the button to upload attachments to the form, on a desktop if the button is clicked the users File Explorer will open to allow the user to select an attachment. On mobile devices when the button is clicked the user will be given the option to take a photo or video, photo library or browse.
Depending on the limit set on the questionnaire, if too many attachments are being added the user will be presented with a validation message and advised of the limt allowed. Where a file is too big (exceeded the single file limit) an error message will appear to make the user aware of this, which will advise of the file size they are trying to upload and what the maximum limit is.
**If the user navigates away from the page and they have entered data to a field, the data will be automatically saved. If the user wants to pause data entry or navigate away from the form it will be saved on the user’s device in a draft state that can be re-opened at any time and more detail added. The record can be locate in the 'In Progress' tab which is located at the left side of the home page on desktop or the bottom of the home page on mobile. To continue with the record the user can click on the form or use the 3 dots and select edit, the record can also be deleted if it is no longer required.**
Stage 5: Submit the record with all required fields and attachments.
Form validation will warn the user if data is missing or file limits are exceeded (set when configuring the portal questionnaire). The user is presented with a form loading animation.
Once the form has been successfully uploaded to Assure, the user is presented with a message (either the default message or a specific message configured for the portal dashboard) and is returned to the main portal dashboard.
When offline, how do I know when a form has been uploaded?
When a user loses internet connection the offline functionality takes over. Offline functionality allows the end users to continue completing the form up to the point of submission. Specifically:
- IQ sections and branching conditions will still be possible
- Drop down picklists will be visible and selectable
- Creation of actions, attaching pictures, adding signatures will all be possible
- Selecting Projects will not be available offline.
- Guidance will be visible. Multi-media guidance which relies on launching external content (e.g. a YouTube video) will not be available offline
- Form validation will still be checked and warn the user
Once the user has completed the form fully and presses Submit:
- If the user is online, the operation will respond as described in the above section "Stage 5: Submit the record with all required fields and attachments"
- If the user is offline, the operation is device and browser dependent. See the table below “What browsers support offline auto-sync of records using a background task?”
Where the background task is not supported, the user must leave the browser application open so the form synchronises once back online without user input. If the user closes the browser or navigates away from the browser then the form will remain on the device in the draft state until the user re-opens the browser and the synchronisation completes successfully. It is not possible to provide a visual reminder they have unsubmitted forms. Users should try to manually synchronise forms as soon as possible once back online, due to cache and storage limitations. If users leave a collection of data unsubmitted for many weeks there is the risk of data loss, due to device OS clearing cache memory.
How does offline syncing work?
When the device has a connection it will attempt to submit the queued items to the server one at a time. The browser will automatically replay any failed requests on your behalf using an interval managed by the browser.
The process of how background synchronisation takes place varies between desktop browsers and those on mobile devices.
On Android and iOS devices, using a browser that supports background synchronisation, the synchronisation can occur if the user has the browser open in the background and the device gets a connection to the internet.
On a desktop device the background synchronisation will only occur if the user has the browser running.
- If the user does something offline and closes the tab but keeps the browser open, then the synchronisation will occur the next time the device has a connection.
- If the user's completely closed the browser then the background synchronisation will not occur until the next time the browser is running with a connection to the internet.
Can users choose which forms can be accessed offline?
Yes when a user first accesses a portal on a device they are presented with a dialogue box asking them to choose which questionnaires they would like to use when offline. The user can select as many of the forms as desired however depending on the device they may be limited to an amount as it will use up storage. If they wish to add further questionnaires to be used offline then when on the home page from the questionnaire list select the 3 dots on the required one and then select 'Download for offline use'. If they wish to remove a questionnaire from offline mode if they click on the 3 dots for the required one and select 'Remove from device'.
Supported Browsers (Assure and AssureGo+)
It has been tested on the following browsers and is supported on
- Google Chrome (Latest version and one prior)
- Microsoft Edge (Latest version and one prior)
- Safari (Latest OS and one prior)
How can I use AssureGO+?
- Uses the same portal forms (no changes required)
- A compatible browser (see Supported Browsers above)
- URL to a portal form or dashboard (collection of forms)
Can I change the logos?
- Logos can be added in the portal dashboard configuration by a user who has the permissions to do so.
- If no logos are added to the portal dashboard then the logo will default to the one in the Assure system settings
- If there is a masked org unit that contains a logo - this logo will display on AssureGO+
- Questionnaire icons can be updated by a system user to create questionnaires within the main system of Assure.
Do you recommend a QR App for Android devices?
If you don’t have a QR reader on your device you may need to install one. We have heard that some have malware so we would recommend https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trendmicro.qrscan&hl=en
This one is free and has no ads and no malware. It is provided by Trend Micro who write anti virus detection software, so it also checks that URLs are safe to visit.