The South Dakota KIDS Count (SDKC) project is a good example of what happens when a service provider focuses on the client's needs instead of their own. SDKC was looking for a better way to share information over the Internet. The old system forced people to download large PDF files that typically contained much more information than they wanted. Once downloaded, users then had to search through these large files to find the specific information they were looking for.

The solution had two key components. The first part was to break those large PDF files into smaller ones that contain one county's information per file. The second part was to create an image map of South Dakota so that users can intuitively access whichever county's information they wanted.

The South Dakota KIDS Count project did not have a complex technical solution or particularly difficult problems to solve. So why are we discussing this project? It's to demonstrate that not all problems are expensive to solve and that complex software is not a cure-all. The only thing that matters is to create a solution that works.

Do you want to see the finished product in action? You can find it at the following URL:
http://www.usd.edu/sdkidscount/countymap.cfm

Testimonial

"Working with Josh (President of Code 2 Interactive) was great. Josh took time to understand what I wanted and set up a plan to get it done. He is easy to work with and completes the job in a timely fashion. If I have additional web work, my first call will be to Code 2 Interactive!"

Carole Cochran
SD KIDS Count
University of South Dakota