I agree with both Bryan on this. In this case, I think the media is the constraint that identifies both function and form. The function is collection of information, and the form is whatever is necessary to allow that with as little pain as possible. Let's face it, people don't like to fill in forms, so the process is always going to be painful.
Utilizing the strengths of an electronic medium could make filling forms easier. An existing paper form is a good place to start for identifying information, but a good design of the electronic form could make filling "seem" less painful through Jedi mind-tricks. Some things that I think makes forms more usable are and are things I've encountered in the past: - JMI 1 - Status of where one's at in the process, especially long, multi-page forms. Knowing where you're at in the process makes things seem more tolerable. Visual or physical status (where on a page, or how far into a big stack) allows the user to know where they're at in the process... it's a JMI because it doesn't make information collection any easier, it just provides peace of mind that the end is in sight. - JMI 2 - Break long forms into multiple pages and tie to JMT 1 -- its' the reason why TurboTax/Taxcut work so well. They're collecting the same information, using simpler words/terms in a succession of pages, making tax preparation less overwhelming. Tied to status, you know when you're getting closer to the end. - Address format, or availability of different address formats should be considered if the form may be used by visitors from other geographies - Support for multi-language, if necessary -- paper doesn't restrict how you write, just the information collected Just some thoughts... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31603 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
