What makes Varo so great?

The development of Varo began in 2018 with a simple vision: provide a free and easy-to-use tool to enable fridge performance data to be shared with the people (and teams) who are responsible for maintaining those fridges. Since that time, we've carefully evaluated each potential enhancement and feature request against a set of core beliefs and design principles to ensure that Varo stays true to that initial vision. Those beliefs and design principles are described below.

Compatibility and Neutrality

• Broad compatibility with logging devices - Reasonable attempts should be made to integrate with any new or existing logging devices that are relevant to vaccine potency in LMICs.
• Broad compatibility with phones - Given the enormous diversity of phone hardware and android operating system versions in low- and middle-income countries, Varo should prioritize backwards compatibility with older versions of Android as much as possible. Before dropping support for a specific Android version, research should be conducted to assess and minimize the impact to the user base.
• Commercial neutrality - Varo should partner with commercial and non-commercial organizations to best support users, while avoiding bias in favor of any specific products or platforms.

⠀Seamless on-boarding/spin-up

• No accounts, ever - Varo doesn’t require any sort of login, sign up, or cumbersome setup tasks. Anyone that can download the app can immediately use it to generate a report.
• Data transfer via email - Email is the primary data transfer method in Varo because it is widely understood, freely available (e.g., Gmail), and doesn’t break Varo’s No accounts, ever promise. Additional transfer methods (e.g., WhatsApp or other services) could be added, but should only be available to the user after a Varo report has been emailed.
• Always free - If Varo integrates with any commercial services or offerings, these should be optional and not impede the operation of the free, core functionality.
• No training required - A new user should be able to install Varo and quickly figure out how to create and send a report without formal training or detailed educational material.

Design for over-tasked users in under-resourced settings:

• Network connectivity may be unreliable - Varo is intended to operate in low-resource settings where network connectivity may be sporadic, costly, and unreliable. Varo assumes that there could be significant latency between the time a Varo report is created and the time it is transmitted via email.
• Limit network dependencies - The Varo reporting workflow shouldn’t be blocked or interrupted by failed calls to third-party APIs. Features can be added that rely on network connectivity (e.g., automatic reverse geolocation) but network failures must be handled gracefully.
• Keep the payload small - Varo treats network bandwidth as a precious, limited commodity. This is particularly true when data transfer costs are shouldered by the end user. Varo should respect the user’s paid data by minimizing the size of the data transmission payload (e.g. in emails).
• Streamline the report creation process - Many Varo users are over-burdened and task-saturated, and sometimes are working in security-compromised areas, so Varo must strive to minimize the additional burden on these people. Speed and efficiency are essential. Any additional step in the Varo workflow – especially any required step – should be carefully evaluated in relation to the additional time and effort that will be absorbed of the user.
• Assume users aren’t Varo experts - High turnover and fluid roles and responsibilities at many health-care facilities mean that already overworked nurses and vaccinators may be unfamiliar with Varo. It is unreasonable to assume that these people have the time or energy to become expert users. Varo should be as intuitive and self-explanatory as possible.
• Keep non-core features at the end - Varo should not distract from the core goal of sending a report via email. Graphs, sharing options, PDF viewers, etc. should be accessible after that core goal has been achieved.