Much of the digital practice in Global Health is dominated by single use, bespoke software solutions. These are often branded and marketed as ‘platforms’. The proliferation of these ‘solutions’ has led to the creation of single use software packages that do not scale outside of a single geography and/or disease area. When they do, they need to be completed rebuilt from the ground up. Technologies that run on these solutions then need to be reconfigured costing considerable amounts and requiring considerable time and expertise.

In The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande wrote that he

...came across two professors who studied the science of complexity, which highlighted three types of problems in the world: the simple, the complicated and the complex.

The SOAP note (an acronym for subjective, objective, assessment, and plan)is a methodology for documenting a patient's condition on first examination by a medical professional. It serves as an excellent cognitive framework for medical professional to assess their patients.