{"id":11778,"date":"2021-08-02T15:53:34","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T15:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sevansolutions.kantsios.com\/?p=11778"},"modified":"2023-08-24T08:45:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T13:45:20","slug":"sevan-capture-concept-to-implementation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sevansolutions.kantsios.com\/sevan-capture-concept-to-implementation\/","title":{"rendered":"Sevan CAPTURE: Concept to Implementation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\"When Sevan first began conducting site surveys for clients, the process was very similar to many others\u2019: site asset information was collected, stored and organized manually using a combination of tools such as spreadsheets, digital pictures and PowerPoint presentations. Depending on the size of a site, surveying could take more than 8 hours per site to complete. Compound that over multiple sites and there could be hundreds to thousands of hours dedicated to walking through sites and manually storing information. While on a survey job for a client, Sevan\u2019s Doug Gafney, Director of Technology Services, thought there had to be a better way to collect and organize survey data. This drive to create a better solution for surveys sparked the idea that launched Sevan CAPTURE\u2122.<\/p>\n

The genesis of CAPTURE had modest beginnings. CAPTURE was not created overnight; for many years, Sevan utilized different survey data collection technologies before considering a mobile app like CAPTURE. Creating CAPTURE also had its set of challenges and once deployed, the app morphed from a basic tool used exclusively by Sevan to a comprehensive survey solution our clients can use on their own sites. From 2014 to 2015, Sevan utilized two different third-party applications to collect and organize survey data and in 2016, Sevan began developing CAPTURE.<\/p>\n

\"\"In the early 2010\u2019s, mobile technology was rapidly advancing but lacked the power to store and organize terabytes of data effectively. Sevan\u2019s first foray into integrating more advanced technology into the site survey process came in 2014 with the introduction of a tablet-based application. The app utilized a form fill which was customized to fit the needs of our projects. While it helped store information and move through sites quicker, the physical devices used to collect and store the information were bulky. The camera in the devices did not provide clear, high-resolution images of site assets. Processing power and RAM in the tablets were too slow to organize the terabytes of collected information, resulting in longer lead times to provide clients a full overview of their assets. The app was also not cloud-based, so the Sevan survey team could not review the data in real time together on their personal devices.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong>Gafney thought the tablet application that was used in 2014 was a step in the right direction but stated, \u201cSevan needed an app that could organize information better and needed more portable equipment to use at jobsites\u201d. In 2015, Sevan found a more advanced third-party mobile app and utilized it to collect and organize site survey information more effectively. The team still needed portable equipment and so to usher in the future of mobile technology, Gafney did what any executive would do: he stopped off at an electronics store on his way to a jobsite, bought an iPad mini, downloaded the new third-party mobile app and used it for the first time at the jobsite to test the iPad and the app\u2019s survey data collection capabilities. The result was a reduction in the amount of time spent at a site to collect survey information. Even with better performance, there were still limitations to the new third party app that hindered the effectiveness of Sevan surveys. Being a third-party app, Sevan did not own the data collected. This meant that any time a client asked for their site survey information or wanted to edit any data, Sevan would have to work with the third-party app account manager to fulfill the request. The Sevan survey team knew they could do better, and in 2016, the stars aligned to begin the process of creating Sevan CAPTURE.<\/p>\n

\"\"In the early summer of 2016, Sevan staff attended a technology conference to learn about new technologies that could be utilized across lines of business. While there, they met another attendee with a data collection and organization app that functioned the way the Sevan survey team envisioned their survey app working. A partnership was formed and in August of 2016, and a plan was set in motion to bring Sevan CAPTURE to life. The vision was for the app to be simple enough for any Sevan surveyor to collect and organize thousands of data points for any project. As with development of any app, research was needed to determine what would make CAPTURE better than the previous survey tools Sevan had used. Data organization was paramount for CAPTURE to be more successful than the previous apps, and that helped lay out the plan for what core functions needed to be built.<\/p>\n

Field user input and client surveys were utilized to figure out which features needed to be built into the app to make data collection and organization easier. Originally, the field users were only Sevan employees. Understanding how the users preferred to collect and store information would help in designing the app in a way that was easy for them to use. Knowing what information clients wanted was crucial in determining what data organization filters and queries needed to be built into CAPTURE. Internal and external stakeholders determined that the app needed four things:<\/p>\n