our AB InBev Foundation story
sometimes you outgrow spreadsheets
about the AB InBev Foundation
AB InBev Foundation (ABIF) was created in 2017 with the mission to reduce the
harmful use of alcohol globally and bring scientific rigor to the pursuit of
AB InBev’s Global Smart Drinking Goals.
In pursuit of these goals, six pilot cities (City Pilots) were selected to implement strategies designed to reduce heavy episodic drinking, underage drinking, drink driving, and alcohol-related violence. These City Pilots serve as laboratories for testing and evaluating evidence-based initiatives to reduce harmful drinking, and identifying promising ones worth scaling.
Visit abinbevfoundation.org
web app • APIs // node • react
the problem
ABIF found that their routine program data collection wasn’t enabling them as they’d hoped. The process for gathering the data was manual and labor-intensive, which often led to compliance tardiness. Further, once the data was in their system, it was difficult to interpret and for the organization to take action on. To address these issues, ABIF outlined for Infinity their ideas to harmonize and streamline the collection of program data on a quarterly basis for data analysis by the City Pilot teams. ABIF laid out their vision as:
- Keep the data collection process simple and familiar, making any new process resemble the existing process
- Make the data easier to understand through added visualizations
- Make the data accessible through exports to Excel where the team could further manipulate the data
- Ensure the timeliness of data collection by providing email notifications
- Move the data collection from using Excel spreadsheets to using web forms
Working with Infinity in developing the data management system was a true partnership, where there was seamless communication and agile action to get the job done.
– Tom Achoki of AB InBev Foundation
When ABIF decided to reengineer their manual reporting process, they reached out to Infinity for guidance. ABIF knew the value Infinity brings to engagements based on prior experience working together on projects such as the Smart Drinking Toolkit and ABInbevFoundation.org sites.
While listening to ABIF’s pain points and proposed solution, Infinity identified a disconnect. Their proposed data collection mechanism seemed too focused on how their Excel spreadsheets worked and didn’t use any of the inherent advantages a web-based solution offers for data integrity and multi-user collaboration.
the initial prototype...
Since the proposed future state product was to be used by ABIF City Pilot team members, it was ABIF’s direction that the new tool be built on top of the Smart Drinking Toolkit website (within the City Pilots section). Infinity set out to quickly build a prototype of ABIF’s suggested web form in their legacy customized CMS, based on an existing Excel spreadsheet.
With the prototype in place, Infinity was able to demonstrate to ABIF how a more robust system, built on a standalone server-based platform with a web browser frontend, would address more of their current business needs, and more easily be updated for their future needs.
We really enjoyed working with the (Infinity) team as well – (I) have worked with many developers, and I can say that working with your team was both easy and enjoyable. The clear work plan made it easy to engage weekly, as well as the team's commitment to understanding and interrogating the business requirements.
– Emily Blynn of Dalberg Advisors (Partner to ABIF)
...and the pivot
While ABIF and their business consultancy, Dalberg Advisors, were mapping out their strategy for the data collection, management, and reporting of City Pilot activities, they realized that it would make sense to bring Infinity into the discussions. Infinity worked with Dalberg to solidify their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan and to translate that plan into business and technical requirements. Once the new dashboard application requirements were documented, Infinity began building a new system, from the ground up, to replace their legacy spreadsheet system, while adding ease of use and data integrity.
Partnering with Infinity, over the course of seven months, from the initial prototype phase, a return trip to the drawing board, and a redesign of the system, resulted in ABIF and their City Pilot users being the proud owners of a powerful tool to help them in their Smart Drinking Goals programming efforts.