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September 20, 2005
Forms vs. Applications
Forms are rarely the best metaphor for complex interactions with computers. Most big companies, however, have a legacy of paper forms. As a result, their intranets are littered with online forms that attempt to meet needs that are often better served by real applications with a real dialogue flow and more of a full-fledged GUI.
Forms work when there's not much to do beyond plain data entry. Just stack up the text boxes and have the user type away mindlessly. A few decision points might be acceptable, such as the traditional question as to whether shipping and billing addresses are the same or different. Even here, a small amount of interactivity improves usability. You might, for example, gray out the billing address area unless the user unchecks the box for "billing address is the same as the shipping address."
Interactions that are more complicated suffer when you present them as straight forms. The following criteria can help you decide whether to present a form or a more interactive design ...
Posted by Don at September 20, 2005 08:31 AM
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