Building a robust online certification and e-learning platform for pediatric dentistry

Team Daffodil started with a thorough assessment of the existing solution which was built on ASP.NET technology. Our business analysts, after multiple brainstorming sessions with the client, outlined the optimal architecture of the mobile solution, refined the functional requirements and developed a complete product vision and its development roadmap. Once the strategic plans were mutually finalized, Daffodil’s team mapped the requirements onto the technology landscape. Daffodil’s UI experts applied design thinking techniques and role based user stories in order to build an easy-to-use user interface for the application

Daffodil created an online certification management system that allows applicants for pediatric dentistry certification to apply for exams, make payments, keep a track of certifications availed/their validity, and more. The solution automates the process of applying for certifications and managing them for various online certification providers.

The solution is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product that can be used by multiple organizations for managing its certification system for thousands of applicants. The role-based certification management system has three major roles:

Super-Admin: 

The super-admin has access to all the clients (online certification providers) who use the Robust Online Certification-Program (ROC-P) solution. The super admin can add new clients with details such as client type, the board they belong to (dental or medical), client status ( active or inactive), add the address URL of their portal, payment gateway settings, general configuration, etc. The super-admin can also remove or update the client information, and add more super-admins to manage the system. 

Client-Admin: 

The client admin is an online certification provider who manages the exams, applicants, and certifications through different modules. The client can do the following using this portal: 

Create a Question Bank: The admin can create a question bank for different exams for pediatric dentistry certification. He can define the question type (objective/subjective), can set up the right answer to the question, the exam where the question can be assigned, add a file (image, PDF, Doc, etc.) related to the question, etc. This module has a versioning control system wherein the admin can check different versions of a question with details like which parameter in the question is changed (if it is the question text, file, or the distractor). Details of all the changes are maintained in a log. 

To ensure security of the entire system and the question bank, the client-server communication was encrypted. This ensured that no critical information moved out of the system without unauthorized access.

Set-up Oral/Written Exams: The admin can set-up oral and written examinations. For setting up an oral clinical examination, it is important to ensure that there is no conflict between the examiner and the candidate. For this, team Daffodil defined an algorithm, based on various conditions provided by the client.

e-Learning Module: Custom course building modules to enable administrators to combine all the content elements such as text, video, images and practice questions to build rich and engaging courses.

Custom Learning Paths: Enables admin to restrict the way that courses can be completed or course content can be viewed.

Exam Results Display: The certification exams for pediatric dentistry can happen offline and online. If the exam happens offline, its results will be displayed on the portal as the exam is assessed. On the other hand, if the exam is happening online, the result is displayed as soon as the candidate submits the answer. However, in the case when the exam questions are subjective or are a mix of subjective & objective questions, the result is displayed on the portal when the answers are thoroughly assessed. 

Communication Channel: Using Twilio, an email channel for communication is provided to the client admin for interacting with the candidates, sending them notifications, in bulk. 

Check Payments: The admin can check out payments received from candidates, can set payments as void, or refund them. The entire payment system is controlled by authorized.NET. 

Applicant: 

For the candidates to check out their certification details, there is a separate login provided to them by the client-admin. The candidates can check the requirements to avail or maintain a certificate, the certificates that they have, check for permissions to contribute to the exam bank (based on their certification and grades), past results history, etc.