Smart Nation Make it easier to complete an online form in government websites
Recently, a friend complained that he had to complete an 8 page online form for CPF nomination. He gave up. He went to the CPF service center and filled up a 2 page manual form. He asked - why does CPF ask him to fill up a 8 page online form when the manual form is only 2 pages?

This applies not only to th CPF nomination form, but to most forms in government websites. The online form seemed to be more difficult to complete, compared to the manual form that it replaced.

I believe that in most cases the information required in the online form and the manual form is the same. The online form appears to be longer because it is broken into many small pages for navigation.

This approach is a bad idea. It is more difficult for the user to complete an online form that is broken into many small pages.

It is better to present the entire form in one page, even though it may be very long.

Most users will like to look at the whole form before filling up the form.

This has the advantage in allowing the user to see what are the data  required to be completed in the form. They can print out the for and get the data ready for the final submission.

Another issue with online form is the many places where the entry is validated against the server. This should be minimized. The online interaction may lead to connection issue and may cause confusing in the completion of the form.

It is better for the user to complete the whole form and then submit it for validation. Many of the validation is not required, for example, the format of the address.

I hope that my suggestion can be applied to all online forms used in government websites. This will make the online form easier to complete, instead of the hassle that many users have to face now.

Tan Kin Lian


 

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