RoboHead offers a powerful and robust form building tool to let you build exactly the form you need to make sure that your clients–whether internal or external–can submit the requests and projects they want with the information you require.
With so many options available, though, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and end up with an overly complex form.
The Benefits of a Simple Form
The same way that you’re busy, so are the clients (or business partners) filling out your form. If a form is too involved or complex, it can deter clients from submitting requests in the first place. Similarly, a complex form can cause a user to rush through it, resulting in lower-quality input–giving the project manager more to do when they get the request.
By creating a simpler and more focused form, you’ll improve both user engagement and input, resulting in better submissions.
Ways to Simplify Your Form
Don’t Duplicate Fields
When building out a form for a bunch of project types, it can be tempting to create a fully built-out section for each one. Let’s say you have two different print deliverable options–a poster and a banner. You could build out an entire section for each one, but most of the fields for these will ask the same questions of the requester.
Instead, build a Print section for the items that apply to both of these. This creates less work building the form to start with, but also means cleaner, simpler reports where one field can do the job of two, four, or more.
Use RoboHead’s Form Preview feature
It can be easy to lose sight of the user experience when you’re building a form for your team. RoboHead’s Form Preview feature will let you see the form in action, just as your users would see it. You can also use this feature to preview your form for your team. Save a draft and put it in preview mode, and make sure that the form you’re building is the one your teams need.
Use Unique Field Names
Sometimes, though, it’s impossible to avoid having fields that do the same job in different places. If you do have to do that, make sure to give the fields unique names. RoboHead allows you to have separate field titles for what the user sees and what you report on. For example, you could have two separate fields:
Form Display Label: Dimensions
Field Name: Poster Dimensions
Form Display Label: Dimensions
Field Name: Banner Dimensions
To the requester, the fields are both called Dimensions, but when you go to report on them, the person creating the report will immediately know which dimension field is which and won’t have to guess–this means better reports built more quickly.
Have one primary form maintainer in your organization
Part of maintaining effective project forms is maintaining them–updating them when your project types change, making sure the statuses available are being used, and things like that. However, that saying about “Too Many Cooks” holds true here. If you have more than one person maintaining forms, it can cause confusion if they try to pull the form in two different directions, removing fields one has added, overwriting rules, and things like that.
All form changes should, ideally, go through one individual within your organization to ensure that those changes make sense for the form and teams alike.
Don’t Try to Account For Every Situation
Similarly, if you feel like you have to lift a car to maintain your forms, you’re not going to want to update it. RoboHead offers a variety of tools to make forms easy to maintain, but part of making a form that’s a pleasure to maintain is making sure you’re not trying to account for every possible situation. There will always be exceptions to the rule, but having a field and section for every possibility just means that it’s easier and easier to neglect parts of your form.
Use Rules Effectively
When creating rules for your form, avoid over-complication. Look for conflicts, and remember that all conditions of a rule must be fulfilled for it to execute. Keeping rules simple will make them easier to maintain both for yourself and anyone else you might want to help maintain the form.
RoboHead Is Here for You
As always, we are listening to our valued customers to learn how RoboHead can help solve common project challenges. If you are experiencing any issues or need help setting up a RoboScript, our team is standing by and ready to help.
Don’t hesitate to reach out.
Eric Frederiksen | Technical Support
Eric has been with Aquent Cloud for seven years. In his free time, he writes, cooks, and plays video games. He loves his cat, cheeseburgers, and every kind of donut.