Making the Transition from Paper to Electronic Forms

Making the Transition From Paper To Electronic Forms

Ray H. Killam, CFSP, CFC

Essociates Group, Inc..

You probably are already somewhat familiar with electronic forms, Internet forms and eCommerce, so this presentation will provide a brief overview of what’s happening now in this important growth area, what it means to our businesses, and most importantly, how it will change your lives, if it hasn’t already.

This paper should give you the basics for planning and making the conversions from paper to forms. It is based on Amgraf’s OneForm Designer Plus forms development software (don’t be surprised – that’s what I know), but it generally applies to any program.

“The newest innovations…have begun to alter the manner in which we do business and create value, often in ways not readily foreseeable even five years ago.” This quote, attributed to Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board in May 1999, is talking about the information technology revolution we are in. It can’t be ignored – it is having such a tremendous impact around the world in such a short time period it can be really mind-boggling. I’m going to give you some information that will put it into perspective, but keep in mind what he is saying – predictions of the future are just educated guesses.

In 1995, Fortune Magazine published an article on business technology spending. It stated that over the past 30 years, American businesses spent over $1 trillion on technology – computer hardware, software, communications and consulting. For all this money, white-collar productivity improved less than 1% annually. Management was getting surly. Well, since then white-collar productivity surged to more like 3-4% annually. As businesses reached critical mass on infrastructure, standards evolved, and integration became easier, the returns showed up. Even though our current “mild recession” seems particularly painful in the technology sector, it is just a brief pause on the long-term landscape. It will not stop. Improved productivity keeps inflation in check and the cost reduction imperatives are just too great to ignore. Electronic forms are just a part of this, but I believe they can be an important part.

Business runs on forms. Forms provide structure to business processes. Every business uses forms. Every major software vendor provides “forms” as a part of their offering. Most don’t do it well, because they don’t really understand forms.

The forms industry, as we have known it for the past 50 years, is experiencing major changes. The macro trends are well documented. Continuous forms production and use is declining in favor of sheeted output. Multi-part forms are becoming rare. Paper forms are giving way to digital documents. Print and store processes are being replaced by print-on-demand. Networked computing is losing market share to the Internet and intranets. But the “Paperless Office”? Well, that’s just a dream shared by out-of-touch technologists.

It is important to remember that paper is not the enemy. Inefficient processes are. Paper is just another technology that is available to the process designers. It has a place, but it isn’t the point.

Good forms begin with a thorough analysis and understanding of the business processes they serve. Process analysis should always be the first step in forms design. Process analysis considers all steps required to complete the entire process, from data capture to records retention. Process analysis is primarily a logical evaluation of all steps required, how long each step takes, where delays or problems occur, and user considerations. It includes an analysis of forms design and production requirements, warehouse and distribution requirements, obsolescence risks, and more. The analyst should talk to each person involved in the process to understand their role and what it is exactly that this person does.

While performing this analysis, the analyst should keep in mind how the application of technology could impact the process. I like to use a process analysis flowcharting procedure and software developed by Dr. Ben Graham. For information, go to

Once the business process is understood and rationalized with the process owners (an important step that results in process improvement, simplification, and cost reduction – but that’s another presentation!), you’re ready for the forms design. This definition, from BFMA, outlines the goals of the design process.

In addition to resulting in the design layout,

increases productivity by creating a basic business tool which is self-instructive,
encourages cooperative response,
provides for easy entry of data,
reduces the potential for error,
facilitates use of the information, and
enhances the organization's image.

Again, forms design is an entire body of knowledge that considers how users interact with the form, what functions the form must serve (data capture, display, image, error reduction, legal record, etc.), and how the form must be processed.

Let’s clear up a common misconception that frequently exists, particularly in today’s Internet environment. Forms are not the simple documents they appear to be. It is testimony to effective forms design when a form appears simple and easy to use for the User. One function the form serves – it front–ends a database or business application – is not the only or even the primary function in most cases. Forms present your company to the public, to employees and to other third parties. The image they present is the image these users will have of your company.

Forms provide structure to transactions. Without forms, we would have to resort to free filling, such as email, and data capture would be very difficult. Users would make errors, omit needed data, and become frustrated in the process. In short, business just wouldn’t work very well.

Forms design must also consider the needs of the production process. The design file (usually an electronic file) has to be made available to the users such that they cannot change it. The design file needs to be approved (proofed) by the form owner, process owners, legal, marketing, administration, and any others that have a vested interest. For paper forms, it then goes to negative (or direct to plate), plate and press. For electronic forms, the design file must be compiled into the User version (PDF, EXE, HTML, or other format).

Today, most forms are already digital at some point in their life cycle. A laudable goal is to keep it digital throughout the life cycle. However, users generally want to print the form at some point. That’s the reality. It may change someday, but not now.

However, many forms remain digital at least until they are deep in the usage cycle. Digital documents are faster, more flexible, convenient, cheaper to use, and can do more than paper forms. However, that isn’t always the case. Remember, paper isn’t the enemy here. Think of the business process and how users want to use the form. Think of the legal requirements for retention, re-creation and use as evidence in a future lawsuit. Paper has its advantages – its flexible, portable, user-friendly, cheap and easy to use.

Generally speaking, there are three levels of electronic or Internet forms:

Desktop print on demand is a digital form file that can be found, selected and output to a printer when a single copy of the form is needed. These forms are very useful for low volume, transactional forms where the workflow is not automated or where the users are remote. Examples are time sheets, expense forms, tax forms, applications, etc.
The next step is to add some mapping that allows the user to find the form, display it on their screen, fill it out from the mouse and keyboard and print, save, route, email, or perform any other processes the form needs.
Intelligent electronic forms support automated business processes. The form is mapped to interact with databases, automatically route, perform calculations, perform validations, interact with other forms, and more.

So, how does one determine whether a form should be paper or electronic? Good question. It is not uncommon today for a single form to be available in paper, electronic and Internet versions and made available to multiple users in their favorite format. Usually, the process analysis helps determine what format the form should be made available in. It really depends on how it is to be used, where and by whom.

For paper forms, materials are a key consideration. Special papers, label stock, inks, security features, etc. all help determine if the form can be electronic. Manufacturing considerations (multiple plies, sizes, perforations, substrates, etc.) determine elements of the form design. Usage and economies of scale can dictate storage, shipping, pick ‘n’ pack, obsolescence risk and more. Filing and archiving requirements must be understood and considered. Multiple versions can complicate the entire process.

For electronic forms, the same considerations apply, but platform requirements replace materials, access requirements replace manufacturing needs, interfaces to other systems and routing requirements replace storage & distribution, and electronic storage, routing and version control are different, but remain very important.

Pre-production analysis is the same for paper and electronic forms. Skip this process at your own risk. However, electronic forms have additional requirements that will affect the analysis process. The goal, after all, is to use the capabilities of digital documents to improve the process.

One of the most important considerations is how the users get access to the form. Do they use PCs (what models?), Windows OS (what versions?), browsers (which ones and what versions?), Macs (what OS?), intranets, Internet, high security, low security, no security, eCommerce applications (credit cards), and more.

The general rule is to keep it as simple as possible. Don’t try to stretch the technology beyond what the users will have a comfort level with. Digital signatures are a good example. Just because it is possible doesn’t necessarily mean it is practical.

Users always want to print and save locally. This is a very good rule of thumb. If they cannot save while filling it out, there will be a high level of abandonment and user frustration. If they cannot print whenever they want, many users will be uncomfortable using the electronic form. One can argue that neither of these functions should be important, but you will lose this argument. How many times have you been interrupted while filling a form, saved it and came back to it later? Do you ever keep a copy in a file? It happens very often today.

All of these elements are important considerations. Users must be able to find the form, understand how to fill it out, know where to find help, be able to save, print and send easily, not have to scroll a lot (particularly horizontally), and generally get a positive impression of your organization.

Use fonts, colors, and other graphical elements carefully. Forms are not a good place to use a lot of graphics, music, sounds, videos, animated gifs, and the like. Used sparingly, these features can add value, but don’t overdo it.

Remember that users will have different screen resolutions and what looks good on your screen may not appear the same on your customer’s screen.

One of the neat features of electronic forms is that information can be selectively presented. This means unneeded information can be removed, conditional data can be presented, and hidden fields can be used. Drop down menus and field-by-field help can be made available. All this makes it easier for persons filling the form.

One of the most powerful features of electronic forms is their ability to easily interact with databases. The form can partially fill itself out, saving the user keystrokes and reducing errors. Data collected can be presented to the database or other applications. Data can be shared between pages on a form, or between forms.

Forms sizes can become an issue for both response time and storage. Use of graphics in particular can be a concern and care must be taken to minimize file sizes.

Security issues are another entire paper in itself. Secure transaction, secure access, secure environments and secure data are all important considerations. Here, let’s just point out that one shouldn’t engage in overkill. Ask yourself “How secure is the current paper transaction? How secure does it need to be? Many security techniques and technologies exist to provide virtually any level of security required.

Also, it is important to preserve your current investment in artwork and existing forms. Today, most business forms already exist in some electronic format. The issue is compatibility. In those cases where the form only exists on paper, scanning may be the answer (avoid bit map scans – they usually result in large files that cannot be easily altered). The first step is to understand the native application used to create the form file. If it can be saved as an EPS or PDF file, you can usually easily import it into another program. This saves considerable time and effort.

The goal is to build your form files in a software program that allows you to add the mapping requirements, connectivity, scripts development (Internet forms) and other features that enable the form to be usable as an electronic form.

The Internet Impact

E-commerce is an undeniable business strategy. It is a critical component of our economy that is growing exponentially. Businesses are attempting to automate the supply chain and are automating customer interactions.

So this is what the Internet has done for e-commerce. Businesses who don’t recognize the potential of e-commerce will fall behind as this way of doing business becomes more and more prevalent.

While e-commerce won’t replace traditional ways of doing business, it is a critical piece of our economy right now, and its impact will increase. The U.S. Department of Commerce said in June 2001 that e-commerce and IT industries together accounted for one third of the United States’ real economic growth between 1995 and 1998. That’s one-third, and most e-commerce sites weren’t even profitable during that time.

Another interesting part of this chart is the growth in business-to-business (B2B) versus business-to-consumer (B2C). That is largely because of the size of the transactions, not the number of transactions. Over 50 percent of the B2B transactions today are worth over $1,000, while 60 percent of the B2C transactions today are worth $500 or less. The average online transaction across all industries is about $4,600.

***July figures released by ActivMedia, from a study performed by the group.

Designing Forms For The Internet

Unfortunately, many people see Internet forms as simply a way to capture data. They use a “caption-blank” arrangement and call it a form. Well, sometimes that is all that is needed, but not generally. As a Marketing professional, I am always concerned with how the form leverages my investment in branding and image building. I want to know about user satisfaction and ease of use. I am interested in being able to prove the transaction.

An Internet form must eventually be an HTML page. It can contain JavaScript, be generated from a script, or use any number of other technologies, but HTML is the language of the Internet that is universally recognized by all browsers. Visual Basic forms work in the eforms area, but not on the Internet. The same is true for Lotus Notes “forms”.

I use OneForm Designer Plus because it generates the HTML and the server scripts. I am not a programmer. Even though I understand the technology, I want the forms design software to generate the code for me.

It is useful to think of an Internet or electronic form as four separate parts. The container is what we, as forms professionals, are expert in. The container is static and reusable. It has very specific needs and requirements, depending on the workflow. It is the “lines, boxes, text and graphics” part of the form.

The data are the fill-able fields information that the user or the database adds. It is variable for each instance of the form.

The Intent is the workflow aspects of the form. It justifies the need for the form and enables the business process to be efficient.

The Image is the way users interact with the form, the marketing image generated, and important considerations such as accessibility.

The principles for Internet forms creation are essentially the same as for electronic forms but the tools are different. As previously discussed, the resultant form is an HTML page. This page is “stateless” in itself, and is lost each time the user leaves the page.