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Secure by design: a roadmap to secure authentication and authorization

· 4 min read
Amber Rignell
Amber Rignell

In order to ensure that Global Goods and Digital Public Goods can enable impact without doing any harm, it is crucial that their authentication and authorization systems are secure from the outset.

We’ve put together a resource to help other Digital Public Goods and Global Goods achieve just this. You can view and comment on the resource here, or read on to learn why.

Workflow Automation; Why do it yourself when a program can do it for you?

· 6 min read
Alexa de Vegvar

Do you think twice when you get an automatic SMS notification because your prescription is ready? (Neither do I.) This seamless experience is driven by “workflow automation”, a key feature that OpenFn provides. The OpenFn Integration Toolkit is a Digital Public Good (DPG) used by governments and NGOs to boost efficiency through workflow automation. The automation that OpenFn provides includes automatically sending SMSs, automating stock updates across supply chain systems, tracking clinical visits, and helping plan vaccine rollouts. We support our partners’ work by lifting the burden of manual data transfers between platforms.

How learning JavaScript helps me better understand OpenFn jobs

· 8 min read
Aicha Diallo
Aicha Diallo

OpenFn automation happens via jobs which define specific steps ("operations") that OpenFn should perform. They're written in a basic scripting language that runs on top of (and has full access to) Javascript. A basic understanding of Javascript will take your job writing on OpenFn to the next level. To improve my limited knowledge of JavaScript, I have been taking Codecademy's Introduction to JavaScript Course.

Forms and Cases: CommCare and event-based integration

· 10 min read
Taylor Downs
Founder & CEO

This is a quick one, but I just got off an exciting call with an organization that's going to set up some jobs to move data into Salesforce from CommCare and realized that despite this being one of our more common integration requirements, we haven't done a 'tips' article for this type of project. Until now.

Sync Like You Mean It: Thinking Through System “Syncing” Protocols

· 4 min read
Jed Goldstein
Jed Goldstein

“Syncing” is getting two systems to a state of harmony. This might mean keeping a list of patients up to date, though modifications can be made in either system. It might mean copying transactions from one system to another on a nightly basis. It might mean a lot of things, but the key concept is that when you sync systems, you’re asking them to work together while simultaneously respecting both software systems’ independence.

In this post we’ll discuss two different syncing protocols to consider when designing your data integration. These include:

  1. Real-time, or event-based, syncs
  2. Scheduled syncs

Our Servers or Yours: Thinking through deployment options

· 5 min read
Jed Goldstein
Jed Goldstein

Zandile is a program manager at an iNGO and she needs to use CommCare, DHIS2, and OpenFn for an upcoming public health project. She understands that all three pieces of software can be deployed locally, or accessed as SaaS (Software as a Service).

Essentially, Zandile needs to decide if she would like to run the software on someone else’s servers (SaaS), or on her organization’s own servers (deployed locally). Before making a decision she outlines the basic, non-technical considerations for both options.