We want to train users on the use of data sets, event and tracker programs on android phones. We have just one instance and we would like users to enter test data during training. What do you advise us to do?
We are thinking of creating an org unit for test data and assign data sets, event and tracker programs that will used during training. Also, we are thinking of creating one test user and it to test org unit. This would be the user to use during training. Is it advisable to this as we have no a test instance? Entering test data in real org units can create problems when wanting to delete this data.
Ideally you should be separating your real and testing data, there are several reasons for this which might involve data quality, administration and security.
If you would have the possibility I would recommend having two instances running on the same machine. You could have a single PostgreSQL running two different databases, and in the same tomcat instance you could have two DHIS2 instances. This should have an impact in your server from the resources perspective but I think a small one. With this setup you could have production users accessing http://exampledhis2.org/ and http://exampledhis2.org/training the testing (you can play with these).
Ultimately, if this would not be an option you could, as you ask, have specific OU for training purposes and I would strongly recommend creating additional testing users to avoid problems with users entering real data in the training OU and vice-versa (you could limit the OU scope per user). Afterwards you could remove the testing data based on the OU or the user, which might be a quicker operation if run directly against the DB.
I would also add that if the production instance is used then after the training, make sure that users clear their browser’s cache so that they don’t end up with cache issues. In fact, I’d recommend they create a ‘profile’ in the browser that’s specifically used for the training so that when you delete the OUs…etc and they login again in a ‘new’ browser profile, they won’t be affected by cache issues.
