Making changes in Production

Owned by wel6on (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Apr 24, 2023 by Terry Nguyen
3 min read

Once a project is in production, changes to the data collection instruments can no longer be made in real-time.

How do I make changes to my data instruments?

In the Online Designer (or ‘Designer’ in the lefthand menu), you will need to enter Draft Mode.

Draft Mode will track the changes being made and allow them to be submitted for review, if necessary. Changes can also be rejected by clicking ‘Remove all drafted changes’

Changes made in Draft Mode will not be seen until they are submitted

 

How do I make changes to my events?

Changes to longitudinal events in production status must be done by an administrator. Contact our support desk at cru@ucalgary.ca

 

Can I go back to development mode?

If a project was put into production mode too early, or does not yet contain any real data, it can be moved back into development mode by an administrator. Contact our support desk at cru@ucalgary.ca

 

How can I test my changes before implementing them?

It is possible to preview a data collection instrument in the Online Designer. This allows the form to be seen, but does not allow for the testing of branching logic and other functions.

If significant changes are being made to the project, contact us for assistance at cru@ucalgary.ca

 

How will the changes affect my data?

Deleting fields will erase the data that is associated with them. If a field is no longer needed, use the action tag @HIDDEN to hide it from view while maintaining the data.

Adding fields will not affect any previous data.

Editing fields may change your data, depending on what is being changed:

  1. The Field Label can be edited freely. Discretion is needed as changes to the field label may change the meaning of the data being collected.

  2. Existing Choices should not be changed, as this may change the meaning of the data. It is important to keep the descriptor with its raw value (the number/letter it is associated with). Choices are also commonly used with branching logic, so changes may affect other fields.
    (In the example above, changing to “1=Monday, 2=Tuesday, 3=Wednesday…” would change the meaning of the existing data, where 1 was selected to mean ‘Monday-Wednesday-Friday’)

  3. Action Tags are very useful for hiding ‘retired’ questions or choices without loss of existing data.
    Field Annotations can be used to add comments or explanations about how/when a field is changed.

  4. Variable Names cannot be changed once in production.

 

If you are unsure how your changes may impact your data, please contact us for assistance at cru@ucalgary.ca