About the PDI Platform

Gary Brown
Gary Brown
  • Updated

About the PDI Platform

Starting your journey with the PDI platform can initially feel overwhelming. Voter outreach and electoral campaigning are complex, with unique terminology, protocols, timelines, and best practices. Once your campaign purchases a PDI software subscription, there's an expectation to quickly become operational.

The PDI Client Success Team is well-equipped to guide users of all experience and skill levels through the process of effectively learning and utilizing the PDI software platform. The About the PDI Platform and Getting Started articles will walk you through the essentials of the system, helping you quickly get up to speed with basic tasks and functions. Our Online Help Center will then continue to guide you through the more complex tasks as you progress.

                                


The PDI platform offers an extensive collection of data and software functionality. While any single campaign may not need every tool or data point, having them all available ensures you always have the ideal elements for each task.

The value of our platform lies in its comprehensive data and tools, accessible and ready for you to use, so you can effectively manage and execute your voter outreach and analysis efforts.
            

Basic things to know about the PDI Online Platform

  • The platform is online and available for use 24/7.
  • The platform is always working with PDI's most current vote file data. Updates are processed automatically when new voter data updates become available.
  • The platform will automatically load mail ballot data for statewide elections as it becomes available from each individual county in California.
  • You will never need to load registered voter file data, or mail ballot status data into the system.
  • You can add as many individual user accounts as your organization requires. Each user account can have specific permission to control user access to various parts of your account.
  • Your subscription entitles you manage all aspects of your account environment based on your organization's needs and preferences.
  • Configuring the correct election date in your account is important in ensuring accurate mail ballot status data detail as well as the proper grouping of your recorded data.
  • The PDI Online System contains a massive amount of voter data fields and software functionality. Additionally, political outreach strategy is a unique discipline and its own terminology and best practices. You should use the platform with the expectation that while you can become a functional user in a short period of time, mastering the entire system may take years.
  • You can upgrade your account subscription or purchase voter data and outreach services from the platform billing center at any time.

Key Platform Concepts

  • Nothing is ever deleted - No data is ever deleted. You can deactivate data to hide and exclude it from being used in the program.
  • Saved Universes are used throughout the system to define a group of voters - The program frequently want to know which saved universe should be used to identify the voters to be included in your lists, counts or projects.
  • It's all about saving clicks - Many PDI power users spend a good portion of the day repeating the processes for their universes, reports, lists, and projects. We understand the value of reducing the number of step and clicks required to do your work. The pinning feature is a popular feature that lets you save configuration setting to move through the program more efficiently.
  • If something seems like it is more difficult than it should be, contact support, there is probably an easier solution.
  • Output goes through the file pickup page - All lists and files generated in the platform are sent to the password protected file pickup page. You can bypass the password requirement if preferred.
  • The program starts simple with options for advanced users - Many pages throughout the program initially appear in the most simple and basic form to help guide our less experienced users. Advanced user can add the more sophisticated features or display the Advanced Options when necessary.

Exploring the Platform

While the PDI Platform offers a wide range of functionality, it is well-organized with detailed descriptions throughout the menu system. We highly recommend logging in and exploring the menus to familiarize yourself with the various tools and their locations.

Below are descriptions of each page in the navigation menu.

  • Dashboard Menu - Analyze the data
    • My Dashboard - Your customizable dashboard.
    • Reporting Tools - Reports showing your progress and current status.
    • Data Visualization - sdf
  • People Menu - See the individual data elements
    • People Search - Search for individual voters, volunteers, and contacts.
    • Manage Volunteers - Manage your volunteers' information and communications; assign volunteers to shifts.
    • Events and Calendar - Create and manage events and work shifts.
    • Import/Export Data - Import data from external files related to individual voters/people.
  • Universes / Lists Menu - Manipulate the voter data for target queries, output lists, and voter count reports.
    • Create Voter Universes - Create and run universe queries for individuals in the voter database.
    • Create People Universes - Create and run universe queries for individuals in the people database.
    • Voter Count Reports - Generate statistical reports containing voter data fields and universes.
    • Process Lists & Files - Generate PDFs of data files and printable lists.
    • Universe Builder/Report Output Configuration - Manage universe and report output options.
    • Manage Universes & Lists - Manage active and inactive saved universes and their configuration options.
  • Outreach Menu -
    • Door to Door Canvassing - Manage door-to-door canvassing using the PDI mobile app or printable lists.
    • Phone Canvassing - Manage phone canvassing using the PDI online phone bank.
    • Texting - Manage texting outreach.
    • Voter Registration - Manage voter registration programs.
    • Emailing - Manage email outreach.
    • Webforms - Build and manage webforms to connect to your PDI databases.
  • Admin Menu - Administrative options for configuring your account
    • Flags & Surveys - Create candidates, issues, flags, surveys, and survey questions.
    • Add/Edit User Accounts - Create and edit user accounts, and manage user account permissions.
    • General Account Settings - Manage general organization account settings.
    • Manage Child Accounts - Create and manage child accounts.
    • PDI Billing Center - Manage billing information and transactions.
    • Additional System Data Settings
    • Customize Lists, Reports and Data - Create PDFs of custom lists and electronic data files.
    • Manage Output Files -
    • List Authorization - Review, approve, or reject file requests.
  • User Menu
    • Switch to Other Accounts
    • Filter My District Geography
    • My Account Info
    • Switch to Child Account
    • Sign Out
  • Home Page Links
    • Bookmarks
    • Navigation Search
    • File Pickup Page
    • Help Center
    • Election Day Countdown
    • Home Page Layout Configuration