Implement a Dedicated Archiving Step & Enhance Quality Control Workflow

[JohnMwashuma]

Context

During the recent election, the HNEC team and ONA staff discussed the need to introduce a separate archiving step rather than handling archiving within Quality Control (QC).

Current Issues Identified:

• Archiving currently happens in Quality Control, which deviates from documented workflows (Documentation Reference).
• The Archiving Clerk was manually filing forms by municipality, but sometimes missed failed quarantine checks due to small font size and incorrect translations on print forms.
• Quarantine checks were originally meant to be performed during Archiving, but are currently executed in Quality Control.
• Forms that failed quarantine were sometimes mistakenly archived due to lack of clear separation between QC & Archiving.

To address these issues, a new Archiving step must be added, and the Quality Control process must be updated accordingly.

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Proposed Changes

1️⃣ Update Quality Control to Send Forms to the ARCHIVING Stage

✅ Modify Quality Control (QC) workflow to send forms to the ARCHIVING stage only if they pass quarantine checks.
✅ Ensure failed quarantine forms remain in QC or proceed to Audit instead of moving to Archiving.

2️⃣ Revise QC Cover Sheet

✅ Update the QC printout cover sheet to indicate that the form is in ARCHIVING state and ready for archival.
✅ Ensure font size and translations are clear and correctly formatted.

3️⃣ Implement a Dedicated Archiving Step

✅ Introduce a new "Archiving" stage where forms will be reviewed and officially archived.

• Archiving Clerk Actions:
  • Enter the form’s barcode to begin the archival process. If a form in not in ARCHIVING state, redirect the Clerk to the barcode entry screen to continue processing and display an error message that the form needs to be sent to the current form state.
  • Re-run the quarantine checks to ensure the form's integrity.
  • Based on the results:
  • ✅ If the form passes:
    • Print a final cover sheet indicating readiness for archival.
    • Proceed with physical filing by municipality.
  • ❌ If the form fails:
    • Display a message that the form must proceed to Audit.
    • Redirect the Clerk to the barcode entry screen to continue processing.

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Acceptance Criteria

✅ Quality Control only sends forms to Archiving if they pass quarantine checks.
✅ The QC printout clearly marks forms as "Ready for Archiving" with appropriate formatting.
✅ A new Archiving Step exists, where clerks must scan a form barcode to proceed.
✅ Quarantine checks are re-run during Archiving to catch any forms needing Audit.
✅ If a form fails the Archiving quarantine check, it is redirected to Audit.
✅ If a form passes, a final cover sheet is printed, and it proceeds to physical filing.

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Estimated Level of Effort (LOE)

Task	Complexity	Estimated Time
1. Update Quality Control Workflow	🟡 Medium	6-10 hours
2. Modify QC Cover Sheet Formatting	🟡 Medium	4-8 hours
3. Develop New Archiving Step	🟠 High	8-12 hours
4. Implement Archiving Workflow & Quarantine Recheck	🟠 High	8-12 hours
5. Unit Tests & Update Existing Tests	🟠 High	6-10 hours
6. QA & UAT (User Testing & Validation)	🟠 High	6-10 hours
7. Deployment & Documentation	🟢 Low	4-6 hours

Total Estimated LOE: ~42-68 hours (~5-9 working days / ~1-2 weeks)

🚀 Effort Level: 🟡 Medium Complexity