The perfect form nobody built
A leisure centre wants the best feedback form ever. Drop-down menus, pre-filled boxes, checks on every box.
But the team has two weeks, nobody who has built a form, and 300 feedback cards a day to type in. The best form on paper may be the wrong form in practice. This lesson is about choosing well.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | The form or page a user types into. | A feedback form |
| Expertise | The skill and knowledge to do a job well. | Knowing how to build forms |
| Implement | To build something and put it into use. | Build the new form |
| Data quality | How accurate, complete and useful data is. | Right codes, no gaps |
| Suitable | Right for the job and the people doing it. | A form the team can build |
| Validation | A check that input is sensible and allowed. | Four digits only |
| Trade-off | Giving up one good thing to get another. | Fast build, fewer checks |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can weigh time and skills to choose a way to reduce entry errors.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
3 questionsHave a go: your answers are marked here and then forgotten. Sign in if you would like your score kept, and to pick up where you left off.Sign in to keep your score
Your answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Three things that limit data entry
Three factors decide how entry can be built.
- Time to create the screens. Every form, menu and check must be designed, built and tested.
- Expertise to create the screens. Somebody must know how. A badly built check can block good data.
- Time to enter the data. Every extra step slows the people typing, and slow forms get skipped or rushed.
Worked example: cost of two designs
| Plain form with double entry | Form with menus and checks | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours to build | 4 | 24 |
| Skills needed | Basic | Form building and testing |
| Seconds to enter one card | 60 | 30 |
| Minutes for 300 cards a day | 300 | 150 |
| Errors | More slips likely | Fewer slips likely |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check: which factor?
Have a go
Check: which factor?
3 questionsHave a go: your answers are marked here and then forgotten. Sign in if you would like your score kept, and to pick up where you left off.Sign in to keep your score
Your answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.