Existing solutions to collecting and managing data, such as Google Forms or Doodle, are relatively limited. Data can only be stored in a flat manner, such as spreadsheets, query tools are almost nonexistent, and permissions are very rudimentary. Additionally, gathering information from multiple individuals can be a daunting task, especially when the information needed is not in an elementary format. Currently the most common method is by using email to gather quick information. However, when an administrator sends out a question to participants, the participants themselves may not be able to give a response quickly and delays overall results from when the original question was asked. This delay can be crucial when a response is needed within a short amount of time.
Our solution is to create an HTML5-compliant website that utilizes an XML-based database for storing information. Administrators will be able to log in, create a form with one or more questions, and submit the form to multiple participants who may respond at their convenience. The form generates an XML Schema that is used to recreate the form for participants. If the participants do not respond to the form after a certain amount of time, the administrator may send reminder emails to all participants who haven’t responded to the form.
After the administrator initiates emails to all the participants, s/he can view all of the responses to the questions asked in the form. All of the results from the participants will be stored in an XML Document that is generated; this document conforms to the XML Schema that was generated from the submitted form. The administrator can also use different filters to view certain portions of responses. S/he can also XQuery-style queries on all of the data in the form to view particular information rather than all of the data at once.