Guardian Connector Users Explained
Guardian Connector serves a diverse community of users, ranging from Indigenous community members with limited technical experience to technical support partners with advanced expertise. This diversity reflects the reality that Indigenous organizations often include people with a wide range of digital literacy levels and frequently collaborate with allied organizations that provide technical support.
The Guardian Connector documentation is designed to address the needs of all these user types. To ensure our documentation serves everyone effectively, we need to understand who our users are and what level of technical knowledge they bring to the system.
User Personas
Our user personas are based on extensive research conducted with Indigenous partner communities and technical support organizations. These personas help us design tools, interfaces, and documentation that serve the real needs of our community.
ITU-1 – New Indigenous Tech User
An Indigenous community member with limited prior experience using digital tools. May be comfortable with basic smartphone use but unfamiliar with data collection apps, GPS, or software platforms. Requires direct training, hands-on support, and interface simplicity to participate effectively.
New Indigenous Tech User content
ITU-2 – Intermediate Indigenous Tech User
An Indigenous user who can operate basic to moderately complex digital tools like CoMapeo Mobile, KoboToolbox, and WhatsApp. Comfortable collecting and viewing data, and may assist peers. Still requires support for data export, syncing, or troubleshooting, and prefers intuitive workflows.
Intermediate Indigenous Tech User content
ITU-3 – Advanced Indigenous Tech User
An experienced Indigenous user who is fluent in the use of multiple digital tools, including GPS units, GIS software, CoMapeo Desktop, KoboToolbox, etc. Capable of training others, performing data management tasks, and understanding the structure of the systems. May contribute to adapting workflows.
Advanced Indigenous Tech User content
IDM – Indigenous Decision Maker
A leader or representative within an Indigenous organization or community who shapes strategy and priorities. Not necessarily a direct tool user, but must understand what the tools enable. Often serves as the spokesperson or accountability node for how technology is used and why.
Indigenous Decision Maker content
ICM – Indigenous Community Member
A broader category encompassing Indigenous individuals who are part of the community but not formally trained or involved in tech workflows. May participate in data collection passively (e.g. via interviews or guided activities), or engage with outputs (e.g. viewing maps, stories).
Indigenous Community Member content
OPU – Organizational Power User
An Organizational Power User (OPU) is the most data- and tech-savvy member of an Indigenous or local community organization. They play a central role in coordinating programmatic work that involves Guardian Connector and related tools. OPUs serve as key points of contact for technical conversations with support partners. OPUs may be Indigenous or non-Indigenous, but typically have urban backgrounds and formal education, often with training in fields like GIS, data analysis, scientific research, or field technology. They are not software developers or IT professionals, but they are proficient users of digital tools and comfortable navigating complex software interfaces.
Organizational Power User content
TSP – Technical Support Partner
A Technical Support Partner (TSP) is an external technologist who provides ongoing, hands-on support to Indigenous and local community organizations in the use of Guardian Connector and related tools. While not embedded in the organization, the TSP works in close collaboration with internal team members—especially OPUs—helping to configure infrastructure, co-develop workflows, and troubleshoot issues as they arise. TSPs bring deep technical knowledge across the full stack, from server setup to data pipelines and visualization tools, and play a critical role in adapting software to fit local realities such as offline constraints, limited bandwidth, or language needs.