The Stepwell team learned quite a bit about the burden of documentation while conducting our User Experience (UX) research. State agencies share a common headache: managing mountains of paperwork to monitor compliance with requirements set out in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Not only is completing documentation time-consuming for administrators, but the sheer amount of physical paper is overwhelming. Some state administrators we talked with complained that they could barely fit all the milk crates of files in their cars as they were making their rounds!
Here at Stepwell, we developed specific features to streamline record keeping and data analysis. The right tools can put a stop to the paper chase.
Stepwell’s cloud-based data storage allows state administrators instant access to every district’s records without having to dig through piles of papers to locate a specific file. Everything is searchable, sortable and easy to organize. Staff from districts and state agencies can record their plans and progress with the push of a button. The fact that staff from both state agencies and local districts have access to Stepwell at the same time creates a live conversation of data entry without having to wait for people to respond to emails and retrieve physical documents.
Not only is Stepwell more efficient at keeping track of all the records and reports, it also ensures that everyone is using the same format. Instead of digging through each district’s papers trying to find one piece of information, state administrators can use Stepwell’s tools to easily search for specific details or sort to manage large-scale data.
By eliminating the need for paper records, Stepwell also leverages data analytics to spot trends and problem areas. Instead of having to cross reference each district’s records to figure out where they are in comparison to their goals, Stepwell users can easily comprehend complex, large-scale data through user-friendly charts and reports.
With the use of Stepwell, IDEA compliance even becomes more environmentally friendly. By storing data in the cloud, Stepwell frees district and state users from using stacks of paper to keep track of records and communicate their progress.
By eliminating the need to have milk crates of paper files stacked in the trunk of state administrators’ cars, we aim to create an organized system of record keeping that will save administrators from the headaches of outdated forms of data management and end the paper chase.