Every organization has forms. They may be internal, they may be customer-facing, they may only exist in a print fashion with a manual processing system behind them, but every organization has forms. To further this, no one is ever waking up wishing to fill out a form that day, but forms must be completed for the business to run effectively. Therefore, it is critical to ensure the forms we must interact with are easy to find, fill, and submit.

As technology continues to advance, end users are expecting more convenient and streamlined process for all parts of their lives. Completing forms is just another area where the demand for better service is increasing and consumers will move to competitors for better experiences.

End-users want to be able to find and complete forms, however, is convenient for them at any given time. This could mean using a mobile device or tablet, a desktop computer, or even a touch device at a physical location.

End users are also looking for the ability to start and stop long process over different devices, possibly starting on a mobile device but completing the process on a desktop computer. They are also looking to simplify data capture as much as possible. Leveraging information that is already known about the user rather than having to ask for known information, reduces the amount of time to complete the data capture and encourages users to complete the form now rather than delaying the process, reducing drop off rates.

Accessibility is also a critical risk when reviewing legacy forms. Legal regulations are mandating that forms meet specific standards to ensure that everyone can access and complete forms and many if not most legacy forms are not able to meet these standards, leaving organizations with potential fines and costly litigations.

Many of these legacy forms have been created as one document, meaning there are a lot of different pieces to maintain and support, as well as versions for languages, geographic locations, or specific channels. Leading digital forms allow for modular design to ensure the reusability of common elements and a more streamlined approach to the form’s entire lifecycle.

This is just a quick overview of some of the problems with legacy forms and some of the demands for modern forms. End users are asking more from all their experiences with an organization and it is critical the business keep up.

Feel free to reach out to me if you would like to learn more about how your organization can begin the process of modernizing your forms and their lifecycle.

Learn more about modernizing your forms and workflow on our Forms Modernization page.