Product Announcement Ci3 CATI for Windows: What You Asked For and More We have devoted the last two years to rewriting our Ci3 CATI System from the ground up. The new design is based on feedback we've gathered at user meetings, in surveys, through our technical support services, and in talking with prospective users. Ci3 CATI for Windows is faster, easier to use, and offers many significant enhancements over the current version of Ci3 CATI. At the same time, we have worked to preserve Ci3 CATI's basic functional structure so that current users find the new system both familiar and easy to learn. Ci3 CATI for Windows is designed initially for Windows 95, the user interface that is now standard on most PCs. Technically, Windows allows us to design a fully featured system that is fast and affordable, and runs on the widest range of hardware. And, because of Windows, you do not have to install, learn, and maintain a separate operating environment for your CATI system. The most significant change we've made in rewriting Ci3 CATI is in the way sample is managed. Instead of receiving sample in blocks, each interviewing station receives the appropriate sample record only when the station is ready for the next call attempt. With this change, the supervisor station can now be dedicated to setting up studies, monitoring interviewing, and running reports. In Ci3 CATI for Windows, studies are built around two databases: a Specifications (Specs) database and a Sample database. The Specs database contains the study specifications for disposition codes, time zone rules, priorities, interviewer assignments, quotas, and so on. These can be created new for each study or copied in part or in total from existing studies to save you set-up time. The Sample database for a study contains all of the call record and call attempt information. Consolidating study information into two databases gives Ci3 CATI for Windows greater system integrity and ensures both that changes to study specifications are communicated to interviewing stations immediately and that reports are kept current and accurate. And, because we chose the Paradox database engine for the Specs and Sample databases, you can access study information or create your own reports using Paradox or other commercially available tools if you want to go beyond the capabilities built into Ci3 CATI. Ci3 CATI for Windows is designed to support up to 100 interviewing stations and unlimited simultaneous studies. Software testing may well reveal that Ci3 CATI can support even more interviewing stations. Virtually all other limits of Ci3 CATI for DOS have been eliminated. Check out the system highlights to see the many improvements offered by Ci3 CATI for Windows. For details, see the other articles in this newsletter. Back to Sawtooth News Index