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The Microsoft Bot Framework is a platform for building and connecting bots. It provides a set of services, tools, and SDKs to connect to various channels and platforms. Microsoft Bot Framework is an open-source. The Bot Framework Composer, a visual authoring canvas for developers, is also an open-source.
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USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a core mobile technology that can be used to deliver a variety of text-based services. The duration of a USSD session is typically limited to 90-180 seconds. This is because USSD is a real-time protocol, and the network needs to be able to release the resources that are being used by the session after a certain amount of time.
USSD messages are limited to 182 characters, which means that they cannot be used to transfer large amounts of data. Images are not supported. This makes USSD not suitable for complex transactions : USSD is not suitable for complex transactions.involving multiple steps. When developing a USSD application, it is important to consider the duration of the sessions. You should try to keep the sessions as short as possible, while still providing the user with a good experience. In general, a session should not contain more that 10 questions (- about 15 seconds per questions )to provide the user with a good experience.
When do I use
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RapidPro, MS Bot Framework, USSD?
The table below could be use to provide guidance on when to use what technology based on your use case.
RapidPro | MS Bot Framework | USSD | |
|---|---|---|---|
Engagement channelChannel | SMS, web chat, varios chat platforms: WA, FB messenger, Line, others | SMS, USSD, web chat, varios chat platforms: WA, FB messenger, Line, others | USSD |
Engagement type | Structure conversation: users follow a scripted conversation, with multiple path and starting points | Database driven: users are presented with questions that are sourced from the metadata on a system. Examples:
| Simple transactions, max less than 10 questions. |
Examples | Most of PSI’s bot implementation are based on structured conversations, hence they have been implemented using RapidPro | Laos: DHIS2 Malaria reporting e-Learning: Moodle Bot DBI Malaria assessmentMoodle eLearning Chatbot | Household Malaria assessment by a health worker. |
RapidPro and DHIS2
A project that provides a fast development path/ integration between DHIS2 and RapidPro exist at https://github.com/dhis2/integration-dhis-rapidpro . As of June 2023, the solution enables DHIS2 users to report data on a dataset. This is a use case that rarely exist at PSI, hence we have not yet tried this library. There are plans to later enable the process of TEI registration and event creation. We should review the provided integration once this new version becomes available.
USSD, Chatbots and FHIR
USSD, and in particular Chatbots are normally structured as a serious of sequential prompts that a users has with the USSD or charbot application for completing a process. On many occasions, the chatbot or the USSD collects information that needs to be stored on a backend like FHIR or DHIS2. The information collected follows a sequence that can be normally captured as a FHIR questionnaire. A FHIR Questionnaire can include skip logic and validation for the answers.
PSI has developed a FHIR Chat (FHIR Questionnaire Processor) that can be used by USSD and chatbots to support the rendering and processing of a FHIR questionnaire. The final output is returned on the standard format of a FHIR Questionnaire Response.