Forms for people: designing forms that people can use

514 Pages·2005·10.11 MB·English

by  Barnett, Robert

For ms For People
Designing forms that people can use
Robert Barnett

Forms For People
Designing forms that people can use
Also by Robert Barnett
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The Form Designer’s Quick Reference Guide
Practical Playscript: writing procedure manuals that people can use
Forms For People
Designing forms that people can use
Robert Barnett
© 1999, 2005 Robert Barnett
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise—without written permission from the author.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their
best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect
to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any
implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may
be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and
strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with
a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for
any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special,
incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Published by Robert Barnett and Associates Pty Ltd
A.C.N. 002 941 120
PO Box 95, Belconnen ACT 2616, Australia
Printed in Canberra, Australia by Goanna Print Pty Ltd
ISBN 0 9586384 2 X
Table of Contents
About this book XIII
v
Acknowledgments XV
PART 1 Understanding Forms
Chapter 1 Types of Forms 3
What is a form? 3
The wide variety of forms 4
Chapter 2 Foundation For Good Forms 11
Technology limitations 12
Problems people have with forms 17
Produce forms that work 19
Modern forms research 21
Common issues relating to forms failure 24
Chapter 3 Communication Basics 41
What do we mean—communication? 41
Forms as a means of dialogue 44
Empathy for the form user 46
Forms versus other written communication 48
Literacy and readability 50
A further look at ethics and truth 52
FORMS FOR PEOPLE
Chapter 4 Forms Language 55
Forms language versus prose 55
A closer look at grammar 56
The “Plain Language” trap! 58
Problems with words 61
Chapter 5 Multilingual and Multicultural Forms 69
Major issues with multilingual forms 72
What are the solutions to multilingual form design? 75
Culture and form design 75
Part 2 Forms Analysis
Chapter 6 The Forms Analysis Process 79
The need for teamwork 79
Analysing and designing the form 80
Getting the process in the right sequence 80
Getting your information 85
Getting approval for your ideas 86
Chapter 7 Aids to Forms Analysis 89
Selecting the right tools 89
Forms history file 89
vi Error analysis records 90
Written procedures 90
Check lists 90
Clerical Work Measurement (CWM) 90
Flow charts 91
Written surveys 94
Focus groups 95
Observational studies 96
Chapter 8 Interviewing 97
The purpose of interviewing 97
Planning the interview 98
The interview 99
Communication dynamics of forms interviews 101
Interviews versus discussion groups 102
Chapter 9 The Needs of Users 103
How design impacts people 103
Psychological issues 104
Physical processing—the need for analysis 107
Know the procedures 109
Storage and retrieval 110
The use of signatures 111
Other forms processing activities 113
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 10 Estimating and Costing 115
The need for estimating 115
Estimating design time 115
Divide time into manageable chunks 116
What if you don’t know what’s involved? 118
Costing the Benefits 118
Areas of savings and increased costs 121
Estimating the costs 122
Part 3 Form Design
Chapter 11 Forms Typography 127
A brief history of modern typesetting 128
Typesetting technology 130
The shape of letters 131
Measuring type 135
Layout and spacing 137
Recommended type faces 141
Functional consistency 141
Selecting corporate typefaces for forms 145
Chapter 12 Basic Form Graphics 151
What makes up a document? 151
Building the form 152 vii
The form page 152
Margins 153
Identifying forms 155
Data areas 158
Lines 160
Using reverse type 162
Side headings 162
Using ballot boxes 162
Chapter 13 Colour and Shading 167
What is Colour? 167
Summary of the colour process 168
How we see colour on forms 169
The effect of paper on colour 174
The effect of different ink pigments on colour 175
Metamerism 175
The effect of ink film thickness on colour 177
Lightfastness of printing ink pigments 178
The human eye 179
Colour-defective vision 180
How the eye and brain interpret colour 181
Colour matching is a serious problem 184
Specifying colour 187
FORMS FOR PEOPLE
How to select the right colour 187
Psychological and other factors 191
How many colours do you need? 192
Recommendations 192
Shading and Tints 192
Specifying tints 192
Variable-toned tints 198
Colour bibliography 199
Chapter 14 Form Structure 201
How forms are structured 201
Office use only areas 203
Column and matrix layouts 203
Captioned floating boxes 207
Captioned pigeon-hole boxes 210
Form letter layout 214
Captioned line layout 214
Multiple choice ballot box layouts 215
Chapter 15 Questionnaire Design 217
Why use questionnaires? 217
How people fill out forms 218
When the person can’t answer the question 228
viii Making decisions 228
Making choices 230
Getting people to follow instructions 232
Old fashioned instructions 233
Instructions that work 234
Chapter 16 Forms for Aged People 241
The issues 241
Some practical advice 246
Part 4 Special Types of Forms
Chapter 17 Multipart Forms 251
How multipart forms began 251
Data content 252
Method of entry 253
Perforations 253
Binding and construction 254
Paper weight 258
Carbon paper 258
Carbonless paper 260
Chapter 18 Envelopes and Mailer Forms 265
Regulations and standards 265
Envelopes 265