Kenyan Developers Modify HR Software to Meet Country Needs

In Kenya, a team of local developers has customized the Capacity Project’s iHRIS software to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Health (MOH). The iHRIS suite is released under an Open Source license that allows anyone to copy or change the source code and redistribute it for free. The local developers, contracted by the Capacity Project/Kenya, downloaded and studied the code for iHRIS Manage (a human resources management system) and iHRIS Qualify (a training, certification and licensure-tracking system). Incorporating aspects of each product, they modified and rewrote the code in a different programming language better suited to Kenya’s specific requirements for data-sharing and accessibility. The modified software—to be installed in the MOH later this month—has three compatible modules that track staffing, payroll and training, with five additional modules planned for development. The Kenyans will provide the Capacity Project with their modifications and extensive documentation, which the Project will make available to the global Open Source community.