REDCap Super User role is a process and knowledge specialist located in each department who works as a liaison between the REDCap Administrator and the REDCap users.
Super Users are an investment worth making when implementing REDCap. Strong Super Users provide successful REDCap's implementation and long-term adoption of the system.
A Super User is NOT to be confused with an End User. "Super Users are individuals with a profound understanding of internal processes and are responsible for knowledge management inside a department." In contrast, an End User is someone that is familiar with REDCap and has been assigned to facilitate roles within specific REDCap projects. A Super User is a permanent role in the department that has in-depth knowledge of the entire process as it relates to the individual's department. "The mission of the Super User is to put processes in service of the team."
Super User Responsibilities
- Liaison between REDCap administrators and REDCap Users
- Network with other Super Users to provide process improvement
- Create and maintain department-specific REDCap documentation as support material for End User training
- Administer department-specific REDCap user training when applicable
Selecting a good Super User
Super Users are the liaison between the REDCap user and the REDCap Administrator. They must be respected among their colleagues and trusted to provide department-specific feedback to the project teams.
Look for individuals with the following characteristics:
- Champion: The individual must believe that the program is worthwhile
- Someone who genuinely believes in REDCap and advocates for it energetically
- Someone with informal organizational influence
- Someone well-connected in the department who can also communicate effectively with REDCap administrators
- Credibility: The individual must be an authentic advocate for REDCap
- Colleagues must be able to perceive the individual as someone who believes in what they are saying and knows what they are talking about.
- Connections: The individual should have solid cross-organizational knowledge and networks
- The super-user will need to be able to translate user's needs into the local project context while understanding the institutions policy and research requirements.
- Social skills: The Super User should have good interpersonal and communication skills.
- Effective Super Users are persuasive, approachable, and well-liked. Adaptability and project management skills are also important.
- Support: Institution leaders need to visibly support the Super User as well as REDCap
- Strong, visible support from managers assures Super Users for their effort while indicating to colleagues that the importance of adopting REDCap.
Other considerations
- Clearly define Super User roles and responsibilities
- Setting expectations for the Super Users provides parameters for accountability. We recommend a developing a department "Super User Agreement" which details the roles and responsibilities of Super Users.
- Provide opportunities for Involvement with REDCap
- Super User's continued involvement with REDCap's Administrators and other Super Users provides continued education (especially important during upgrades) and innovative implementation to new features.
- Attendance is required at all training sessions.
Super User Training Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, the Super User will be able to: | How is this outcome assessed? |
1. Discover the use of REDCap in human subject research. | Quiz |
2. Relate data management standards to human subject research. | Quiz |
3. Construct appropriate instrument validation for study-specific database. | Assignment 1– Write and executed script |
4. Demonstrate how software validation meets regulatory requirements. | Assignment 2 – Assess previously written and executed script |
5. Explain the fundamentals of electronic data capture. | Quiz |
6. Develop REDCap survey and database for classic and longitudinal data collection. | Project 1 – Build 2 REDCap database |
7. Use REDCap for classic and longitudinal data collection. | Project 2 – Execute data collection in developed REDCap database |
8. Evaluate REDCap database design. | Project 3 - Assess previous REDCap database |
Training Schedule:
Topic(s): | Readings, Lectures, & Other Materials | Assignments & Assessments |
Introduction to Electronic Data Capture (EDC) & REDCap | Module 1 – Recorded Lecture | Quiz 1 |
Review Types and Methods of collecting data | Module 2 – Recorded Lecture | Check-in 1 |
Best Practices for data management: Outline your aims | Module 3 – Recorded Lecture | Quiz 2 |
Best Practices for data management: Prioritize data protection and security | Module 4 – Recorded Lecture | Assignment 1– Write and executed script Assignment 2 – Assess written and executed script |
Planning a Data Strategy | Module 5 – Recorded Lecture | Check-in 2 |
REDCap Walkthrough: Set-up & Online Designer | Module 6 – Recorded Lecture | Check-in 3 |
Project: Database development | Module 7 – Recorded Lecture | Project 1 – Build a classic and longitudinal REDCap database |
(Optional) Project 1 Q & A Session | N/A | N/A |
REDCap Walkthrough: Data Collection & Record Management | Module 8 – Recorded Lecture | Check-in 4 |
Project: Data collection | Module 9 – Recorded Lecture | Project 2 – Execute data collection in a classic and longitudinal REDCap database |
(Optional) Project 2 Q & A Session | N/A | N/A |
Beyond REDCap: Data export, analysis, and data visualization | Module 10 – Recorded Lecture | Check-in 5 |
Project: Evaluate REDCap database design. | Module 11 – Recorded Lecture | Project 3 - Assess previous REDCap database |
(Optional) Project 3 Q & A Session | N/A | N/A |
References:
- Harmon, P. (2011). The Process Management Gap. BPTrends volume 9, number 21, december 13, 2011. Retrieved from https://www.bptrends.com/the-process-management-gap/ on October 22nd 2016.
- Harmon, P. & Wolf, C. (2014). The State of the BPM Market – 2014, BPTrends. Retrieved from https://www.bptrends.com/bpt/wp-content/uploads/BPTrends-State-of-BPM-Survey-Report.pdf on 2017 April 1st.
- Rizoto-Vidala-Pesoa, L. M. The Super User role as a tool to progress in maturity in Business Process Management – a study case of Cabot Latvia. Master thesis, University of Latvia, 2017. https://dspace.lu.lv/dspace/handle/7/36320
- Rizoto-Vidala-Pesoa, L. M., Kuzņecova, O. The Role of the Super User in Achieving Business Process Management Maturity. Information Technology and Management Science. December 2017, vol. 20, pp. 74–78. https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/itms/20/1/article-p74.xml ©2017.
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