Workshop on Application
of New Information Technology to Population Data
Bangkok, 12-20 October
1999
AFPSPRO - modules description
(Vendor material)
A. Configuration Module:
Using the Configuration module,
one can create multiple forms-processing applications
in just a few hours without writing a single
line of code. The configuration module
allows to define the application's building
blocks - the forms (both their logical structure
and their physical structure) as well as the
data flow and the processing type they undergo.
B. The Production Module
(Command & Control)
The Production Module is the
run-time module used to test and run the generated
applications. Through Command & Control,
users operate the Input, Processing, Tile
Mode, Completion, Exception and Archive
modules, which comprise the full data-capture
process. The whole process id being monitored
in real time by the Workflow Manager
module.
B-1.
The Input module
supplies the form images to the system from
several sources. An image can be obtained
from different sources - Scanner, fax or
existing file.
B-2.
The Processing module receives
batches created by the Input module. This
station is responsible for recognizing both
the forms and the characters - OCR /
ICR / OMR / Bar Code. The images undergo
image enhancement, automatic form recognition,
form removal and optical character recognition.
In order to improve the system recognition
results, several OCR / ICR results can be
merged and checked using a set of powerful
voting algorithms. In addition, the
system allows implementing on the recognized
characters any kind of automatic validation
procedures or rules as well as automatic
comparison to pre-defined database tables.
B-3.
The Tile Mode workstation
is used for mass validation and decreasing
the substitution errors of the recognition
engines. The module allows the immediate
viewing of recognition engine results grouped
in order by numeric and/or alpha characters.
Grouping the recognition results by fields
within batches, for example by grouping
machine-type and hand-print fields separately,
makes it easier to spot false results and
send them for correction in the Completion
module.
B-4.
The Completion module receives
data produced by the Processing module.
The unrecognized data are then corrected
and completed manually. The forms
can be displayed either field by field (Field
mode) or page by page (Page mode). For higher
throughput, In field mode, the same fields
from the entire batch appear on the screen.
The typist can customize the appearance
of the data completion screen in terms of
fonts, colors, and more.
B-5.
The Exception module collects
the pending exceptions that were marked
By the typist during the Completion stage
and presents them to the exception handler
for clarification and resolution.
B-6.
The WorkFlow Manager module
control the system as well as the flow of
data across the automatic data capture network
during the run time cycle. The WorkFlow
Manager provides the system administrator
a graphical interface enabling real time
visual feedback of the system workload and
the status of the different jobs, in
order to control the batches and the workflow,
identify bottlenecks, manage the queues,
balance the workload, and supervise the
post-processing procedures, automatic recovery
and other inter-systems operations.
C.
Off-Line Module
Once a batch process is
completed data and images can be backed
up and retrieved using a special application,
allowing an operator to browse all data
and images of material processed up to
that moment, even before it was transferred
to the mainframe.
