Project data deletion
Overview
At the completion of a research project your organization may require the deletion of project data, including research design and all submitted research content from scouts. dscout can support this with a specialized version of project completion. To discuss implementing this feature into your account, contact your Research Advisor or Account Manager.
When this deletion feature is turned on, 90 days after a project is marked complete the research design and all submitted research content are deleted. Users who mark a project complete will receive multiple reminders that this is a serious and irreversible action. Emails are also sent to the project creators and account owner that project has been marked complete and is scheduled for data deletion. The high level project details, including title, launch date and number of completes is preserved in the Account Management section of the platform.
Triggering data deletion
To trigger the data deletion, start by marking a project 'complete' from the homepage. As a safety, you are required to enter the project name to enable the confirmation button.
Once the mark as complete is confirmed the project moves to the Completed Projects tab on the home page. Additional deletion countdown warnings appear on the project card and at the header of the project home page.
Further details
Account owners receive a weekly email alert for dormant projects that may be considered for deletion. A project is dormant if it has been 60 days since a researcher viewed an application, entry or session, or if an export or share link was created.
Once the 90 day counter has started the account owner and project creator receive a warning email 60, 30, 5 and 1 day from deletion. A final email is sent confirming deletion.
To support research operation needs deleted projects remain in the Account Management section. Their status is changed to Deleted and the only available information is the the project and mission names, project owner name, number of scouts and scout completes, and the launch dates.
If you wish to export your data prior to deletion, read more here.