# Features

VA Explorer is an open-source web application built to help individuals and
organizations manage, analyze, and disseminate {term}`VA`s while integrating with
existing {term}`CRVS` systems at scale, simplifying the use of {term}`VA`s for
those individuals and organizations. To that end, VA Explorer offers some major
features:

- Tablet Friendly Interface
- User Identity & Access Management
- VA Data Import
- Data Collection Supervision
- Processing & Analyzing Cause of Death Data
- Repairing VA Errors
- VA Search & Retrieval
- Exporting Data

VA Explorer is in active development. A prototype, with the features described
here and screenshot with fake data, has been piloted in Zambia and is expected
to continue improving in response to new research and user feedback. If you
would like to see something specific from VA Explorer going forward, we look
forward to hearing from you! Please submit feedback, bug reports, feature
requests, etc. to our open-source project page.

For information on who should use VA Explorer, this documentation covers
[User Training](../training/user_guides) for all user and support roles.
Information on potential levels of support that may be required to run a tool
like VA Explorer is also available via our [IT Support Guides](../training/it_guides)
training series.

## Tablet Friendly Interface

```{figure} ../_static/img/features/tablet_friendly.png
:alt: Picture of VA Explorer, comfortably visible on an iPad
:width: 50%

<small>Picture of VA Explorer, comfortably visible on an iPad</small>
```

VA Explorer needs to support users on desktops and mobile devices. This support
enables those whose roles place them in an office as well as those whose roles
take them out to fieldwork. To that end, VA Explorer’s interfaces are designed
to display comfortably at iPad resolution minimums (1024px x 768px) and scale
easily to larger devices.

## User Identity & Access Management

```{list-table}
:class: img-sidebyside borderless
* - ```{figure} ../_static/img/features/user_iam_1.png
    :alt: VA Explorer's Users module, showing a list of users
    :width: 327.500
    :height: 247.719

    <small>Users module: A list of users</small>
    ```
  - ```{figure} ../_static/img/features/user_iam_2.png
    :alt: VA Explorer's Users module, showing an individual user edit form
    :width: 327.500
    :height: 247.719

    <small>Users module: An individual user edit form</small>
    ```
```

VA Explorer supports different user types and levels of access for those users
to facilitate roles-based {term}`VA` workflows. This means VA Explorer offers features
like:

- Creation & management of user accounts by administrators
- Ability to disable, restrict access to data by feature, role assignment, or geography
- Ability for users to manage their own passwords automatically

## VA Data Import

```{list-table}
:class: img-sidebyside borderless
* - ```{figure} ../_static/img/features/import_1.png
    :alt: VA Explorer's homepage, showing imported VAs & their statuses over time
    :width: 327.500
    :height: 247.719

    <small>Homepage charts showing imported VAs + statuses over time</small>
    ```
  - ```{figure} ../_static/img/features/import_2.png
    :alt: VA Explorer's Users module, showing an individual user edit form
    :width: 327.500
    :height: 247.719

    <small>Users module: An individual user edit form</small>
    ```
```

VA Explorer has limited functionality on its own – the true value of the tool
comes from how it helps you process your {term}`VA` data. To obtain this data, VA
Explorer currently supports different data import methods (enumerated below).
After import, all {term}`VA`s are searchable/ filterable via a number of useful
parameters such as interviewer, name of deceased, date, facility, cause of
death, and whether the {term}`VA` has errors.

- **(Automatic) Click Import Data Button:** This format is the most user friendly:
the VA Explorer UI will detect whether you are using {term}`ODK` or a more
general {term}`CSV` import and react accordingly.

- **(Manual) Import from CSV:** This format allows the most flexibility: if your {term}`VA`s
can be exported from their origin in {term}`CSV` form, you can import them into VA
Explorer. See [Admin Guides > Data Admin](../training/admin_guides.md#data-admin)
training for specifics on how.

- **(Manual) Import from ODK:** This format implements manual support for {term}`ODK`
integration: bring your {term}`VA`s directly over from {term}`ODK` like clicking the
data import button, but with more customization about how and when. See
[Admin Guides > Data Admin](../training/admin_guides.md#data-admin) training for
specifics on how.

## Data Collection Supervision

```{figure} ../_static/img/features/supervision.png
:alt: VA Explorer's Supervision module, showing an VA statistics grouped by facility
:width: 50%

<small>Supervision module: VA stats grouped by facility</small>
```

VA Explorer allows admins and data managers to supervise the origins of collected
{term}`VA`s. Want to know which facilities are generating the most {term}`VA` errors when
attempting to assign a {term}`COD`? Want to know which interviewers/ field workers are
collecting the most {term}`VA`s? This feature helps supervisor roles answer those types
of questions about the overall {term}`VA` dataset.

- Overview of total {term}`VA`s, total warnings/errors thrown during the {term}`CoD` assignment,
and performance stats such as VAs/week

- Filter {term}`VA`s under supervision by dates of interest

- Group data by interviewers/field workers or by facility for a different set of
insights

## Processing & Analyzing of Cause of Death Data

```{list-table}
:class: img-sidebyside borderless
* - ```{figure} ../_static/img/features/analysis_1.png
    :alt: VA Explorer's homepage, showing imported VAs & their statuses over time
    :width: 327.500
    :height: 247.719

    <small>Homepage charts showing imported VAs + statuses over time</small>
    ```
  - ```{figure} ../_static/img/features/analysis_2.png
    :alt: VA Explorer's Users module, showing an individual user edit form
    :width: 327.500
    :height: 247.719

    <small>Users module: An individual user edit form</small>
    ```
```

After importing {term}`VA` data, one of VA Explorer’s key benefits is the ability to
quickly assign a {term}`CoD` to each by running InterVA5. To enable this, VA Explorer
currently supports two ways to process {term}`VA`s via {term}`CoD` assignment, enumerated below.
The home page lists a quick reference of {term}`VA`s that either contain coding errors
to be addressed or were assigned "Indeterminate" as the cause of death and may
require further investigation.

- **(Automatic) Click Run Coding Algorithms Button:** This format is the most user
friendly: the VA Explorer UI will detect all uncoded {term}`VA`s and attempt to run
cause of death assignment on each or report any warnings/errors associated with
{term}`VA`s that cannot receive {term}`CoD` assignment.

- **(Manual) Run Coding Algorithms:** This format implements manual support for
InterVA5 integration: directly control the {term}`CoD` assignment process for your {term}`VA`s
via management command. See [Admin Guides > Data Admin](../training/admin_guides.md#data-admin)
training for specifics on how.

Additionally, VA Explorer provides a dashboard of summary information,
analytics, and charts for {term}`VA`s that have successfully assigned a cause of death.
The dashboard currently supports

- Showing an overview of {term}`VA` processing progress with most recent dates and number
of coded compared to uncoded {term}`VA`s

- Understanding geographical trends via a dynamic heat map, with zoom
capabilities to filter for regions of interest

- Showing cause of death plots for chosen regions

- Showing death distributions by age, gender, and place of death for chosen
regions

- Showing trends over time for chosen regions

- Ability to filter dashboard data by cause of death, dates of interest, and
geography

## Working with VA Questionnaires

```{list-table}
:class: img-sidebyside borderless
* - ```{figure} ../_static/img/features/questionnaire_1.png
    :alt: Picture of an individual VA, showing responses
    :width: 327.500
    :height: 247.719

    <small>Record view showing VA responses.</small>
    ```
  - ```{figure} ../_static/img/features/questionnaire_2.png
    :alt: Picture of an individual VA, showing identified warnings
    :width: 327.500
    :height: 247.719

    <small>VA Issues tab, showing algorithm errors preventing coding</small>
    ```
```

Ideally the {term}`VA`s collected by you, or your organization, are free of error. But
for occasions where they are not, VA Explorer supports troubleshooting and
correcting individual {term}`VA` warnings or errors preventing cause of death assignment,
or those leading to an "Indeterminate" assignment by InterVA5.

- Field workers are able to view and edit {term}`VA`s for their location
- Data Managers and Admins can do repairs for any {term}`VA` they have access to
- View errors and warnings causing issues with {term}`VA` from both VA Explorer and InterVA5
- Easily edit {term}`VA` answers with {term}`VA` instrument compliant responses
- View change history and revert changes as needed for a {term}`VA`

## Processed Data Export

```{figure} ../_static/img/features/export.png
:alt: VA Explorer's Export module, showing an data export form
:width: 50%

<small>Export module: options form for data export</small>
```

Finally, when users would like to send the {term}`VA`s processed by VA Explorer onto
another step in their analysis, or just save a copy for themselves, VA Explorer
supports data export in both {term}`CSV` and {term}`JSON` formats. Additionally,
if VA Explorer has been configured to integrate with {term}`DHIS2` then users
can export their data directly to that service. See [DHIS2](integrations.md#dhis2) 
for more info.

- Choose between {term}`CSV` and {term}`JSON` data download
- Filter data downloaded to just the {term}`VA`s of interest
- Optionally export direct to {term}`DHIS2` if your configuration supports it