Chapter 3 — Records and forms
Lesson map
Lesson 03 published. Map, example, EX009.
flowchart TD
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["3.1 Paper and screen forms"]
N2["3.2 Better design"]
N3["3.3 Contact details"]
N4["3.4 Testing with users"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4
N4 --> EX["Worked example"]
EX --> Q["Exercise EX009"]
Logical drawing
flowchart LR
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["3.1 Paper and screen forms"]
N2["3.2 Better design"]
N3["3.3 Contact details"]
N4["3.4 Testing with users"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> Q["EX009"]
[Learning outcomes]
|
v
[3.1 Paper and screen forms]
|
v
[3.2 Better design]
|
v
[3.3 Contact details]
|
v
[3.4 Testing with users]
|
v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX009]
Learning outcomes
You will (1) design forms that collect good data; (2) use required fields and lists; (3) check forms with users.
3.1 Paper and screen forms
Linkway collects some data through forms: complaints from passengers, incident reports from drivers and lost property records. Marta reviews the complaint form and finds free text for the route, date and stop, so staff write routes in many ways, such as route 7, number 7 and the hospital bus. She notes that free text makes later analysis hard, because the same route appears under different names. She counts eleven different ways of writing route numbers in a single month of synthetic complaints, which shows how large the problem is for anyone analysing them.
3.2 Better design
Marta redesigns the complaint form for the website: route chosen from a list, date from a calendar, stop from a list filtered by route and a free text box for the description. Required fields are marked clearly. She keeps the form short, asking only for information needed to handle the complaint. She explains that good forms prevent errors at the start, which is easier than fixing them later in spreadsheets. Mr. Hughes approves the design for testing before it goes on the website.
3.3 Contact details
The old form asked for the passenger's full address, date of birth and phone number. Marta asks Mr. Hughes why. He says only an email or phone number is needed to reply. She removes the address and date of birth. Mr. Osei explains that collecting only what is needed is a data protection principle and also makes forms quicker to complete, so more passengers finish them. Mr. Hughes agrees, and the next version of the form asks only for an email address or a phone number, with a choice of which to use.
3.4 Testing with users
Marta asks three classmates and two Linkway staff to complete the new form. One staff member points out that some stops share names on different routes, so the stop list must show the route. Another finds the date calendar hard on a phone. Marta adjusts both. She learns that testing forms with real users finds problems designers miss, and records the changes in her workbook with reasons. The final form goes live on the website, and Mr. Hughes reports that complaints now arrive with the route and stop recorded correctly in nearly every case.
Worked example
Marta finds free-text routes on the complaint form, redesigns it with lists and a calendar, removes unneeded address and date of birth fields and fixes problems found in user testing.
Synthetic case. Forms are synthetic.
Errors and limits
Free text for structured information makes analysis unreliable.
Exercises
- EX009 — Route variations. Give one way staff wrote route 7. Rubric: 3 = number 7 or the hospital bus;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
- EX010 — Removed contact fields. Which fields did Marta remove? Rubric: 3 = full address and date of birth;; 2 = both;; 1 = one;; 0 = none.
- EX011 — Stop list problem. What problem did staff find with the stop list? Rubric: 3 = stops share names on different routes;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
- EX012 — Calendar issue. What was hard about the calendar? Rubric: 3 = using it on a phone;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
Continue studying — lesson 03 (chapter 03 of 18)
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