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Forms that work: designing easy and accurate question and answer dialogues

A web form is the point where you stop giving information out to your user and start collecting information instead. This tutorial will help you to understand how forms work, and what to do to improve the design of web forms. We will not be looking at any particular forms technology, nor will we be working on programming forms. Instead, the tutorial concentrates on users: how they react to forms and what they expect from forms. By meeting users' needs, you will make sure that your form will be easy to use.

The tutorial uses many examples drawn from a wide variety of web sites. You are also invited to send examples in advance, and to bring forms with you to discuss with other participants and with the tutor.
In this tutorial, you will learn

• How forms differ from other pages on the web site

• How to analyse forms in terms of the relationship between the user and the organisation that is asking the questions

• How to improve the appearance of forms by making them look attractive, organised and easy to read

• How to design questions so that users can answer them easily

• How to investigate your organisation's information needs so that you can design a form that meets those needs.
  
  

About the Tutor

Caroline Jarrett Caroline Jarrett is an independent usability consultant. She runs her own business Effortmark Limited. She specialises in forms: evaluation and design of paper and web forms, and effective implementation of business process that include forms. She has a particular interest in tax forms through her eight years of work with the Inland Revenue in the United Kingdom. In 2000-2001, Caroline conducted tutorials in 13 cities across the world as part of the Nielsen Norman Group User Experience World Tour. Caroline was the practitioner member of the course team for the new Open University course 'User Interface Design and Evaluation'. She is working on a book about designing Web and paper forms, with Gerry Gaffney of Information and Design in Melbourne.

Usability training

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Last updated: 29 March 2004