Fulcrumapp.com

I love that everything is right at my fingertips in one place. No need to make sure I've printed off enough datasheets and safety forms, or brought enough pencils! Especially since I've been working from home and don't have easy access to a printer.

I like that you can flag your favourite/most-used apps for ease of navigation, and I really like the auto-fill feature where things like project names, numbers, survey station pre-fixes, etc. are auto-filled once you've filled out the first one and need to repeat many times throughout the day/week. We've found so many different ways to capture our data in ways that make it easier to fill out the forms, from drop-down menus, to +/- tally counters, to signature fields and data form 'sections'. I also like that you can use formulas and links to fill out other fields (e.g. We've set it up so that when we select a species name during a bird survey, it automatically links the latin name, and federal and provincial status of each species). Another handy feature is to make certain fields mandatory, so that nothing important gets missed while the survey is being conducted.

I've found it quite easy and intuitive to use for the most part. It takes a bit of practice to be able to fill out the forms quickly, but it's worth it for me. Being able to hit the sync button at the end of the field day (or during a break in between) is really satisfying, because I know that everything is safely backed up, and that I don't need to scan anything!

One thing I feel could be improved would be the format of the output data. Data can be downloaded and opened in Microsoft Excel, but depending on how many 'levels' of data you have, you'll have multiple tabs in your spreadsheet, which may be difficult to interpret at times, as they are linked by a long string of letters/numbers based on a parent-child relationship. You can get around this by including some hidden fields that link more useful information (e.g. survey station ID), but it would be nice to be able to go through a menu, similar to the initial app set-up, to determine how the data will be presented.

I found that some staff members are reluctant to switch to digital data entry, because they are used to taking field notes manually, and may not trust the safety of the data. I think this is just a personal preference though, as I personally would trust a cloud-based, digital product more than I would trust my own ability to keep track of many pieces of paper!

One challenge I've noticed is that during timed surveys (e.g. breeding bird surveys), if you have a lot of fields to fill out, and multiple levels of menus, it can be tricky to fill out each data point quickly when you have a limited time to conduct the survey. We typically do surveys in pairs, so I find it's easiest to have one person conducting the actual survey, and one person filling out the form, so that I can spend more time looking through my binoculars than at the tablet.

In combination with a GPS receiver, the Fulcrum software allows me to capture data in the field using unique data point identifiers, including latitude and longitude. I have thirty or so separate apps within the software that I use for collecting natural history data at client and county levels. The available data fields allow me tremendous flexibility in choosing the types of categories (single-choice, multiple-choice), organization into sections, creation and import of choice lists (in some cases, of several thousand plant species or several hundred county street names), and data export into multiple GIS-friendly database files. I am impressed with it. There are some functions I have not used, such as multiple-member apps and sharing levels.

Unlike competitor software, it does not allow use of paths or polygons. Usually, I use discrete data points or paths; for the latter, it is necessary to have direction-of-travel and side-of-road fields that require extra time in the field. In the fields that use choice lists, I often use an "Other" field that allows input that does not exist in the list, but modification of the data field - especially unchecking another list element - results in loss of any entry in the Other field. There should be a means for retaining this information despite other changes in the field, and "Other" should open for additional information without deleting existing contents.

What I like the most about Fulcrum is the ease of use while navigating around the app on mobile devices, no matter the OS of the device (i.e. iOS or Android) the Fulcrum application works great. I love having the ability to only have to use my tablet or my phone while completing field work and filling out field reports and then uploading them to the cloud. It's much better than having to keep track of everything with pen and paper.

I do not like Fulcrum when it comes to uploading media (i.e. Photos, etc.) to reports. Only limiting the user to select and upload one (1) photo at a time to the reports is beyond mildly frustrating. If I could select multiple photos at once from my mobile device's photo gallery and upload them all at the same time in one swoop, that would be FANTASTIC. But until that happens, I'm just going to have to get over it and deal with my frustrations. Otherwise, great experience using the mobile version of Fulcrum.