atw: Re: Online form advice
- From: "Christine Kent" <cmkentau@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 14 May 2013 07:25:40 +0100
I can't help with comparing like with like, but certainly Survey Monkey is
easy both to set up and complete. However, I have no idea if it is
possible/how easy it is to organise automatic data transfer. It extracts
good statistics, and I would imagine it can generate simple data files, but
I have always used the results manually. I used Survey Monkey while working
for a very conservative company paranoid about security, so if it got past
their technophobes it is probably OK.
I tend to avoid all Adobe applications of every kind because if they can
make something difficult, they will. Sheer prejudice of course, but each
time I have over-ruled my prejudice it has been to my cost. Reliable and
safe but difficult sums up Adobe products.
And we all know that reliability is not a Microsoft strong suit. I would sum
Microsoft up as flashy and imaginative, but unreliable.
I would start with Survey Monkey to set your standards and then test the
others to see how they compare.
Christine
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of bloss oliver-skuse
Sent: Tuesday, 14 May 2013 12:57 AM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Online form advice
Hi austechies,
I am hoping for a bit of advice about creating forms using fairly basic
tools.
I need to create an application form as part of a pilot program. After the
pilot program the organisation will invest in setting up a proper online
process (using a similar setup to their recruitment portal). However, I need
a bit of a cheap and cheerful (or is it quick and dirty?) solution at the
moment because timing has been changed dramatically and suddenly this needs
to be rushed.
The form will be submitted electronically and would ideally:
* Allow me to use custom logics to build in different response
streams. (I would like to be able to ask a different set of questions
depending on applicants' response to a couple of key questions. The trick
here is that the membership type will be different depending on some of the
responses but this is only an administrative distinction on our end and they
do not get to choose which membership type they apply for, so we would not
want to make the application pathway too obvious for each membership type)
* Allow multiple users to work on the same application form (i.e.
admin staff may need to complete the bulk of the form on behalf of the
applicants, and then individual applicants would need to complete the rest
of their forms themselves)
* Be easy to save (both allowing the applicant to save progress while
completing the form and allowing our admin to save each individual response
on file)
* Be suitable for completion on a range of devices
* Be largely idiot-proof (on our end and applicants' - so forms need
to be easy to retrieve and data easy enough to copy into our database, and
they need to be easy enough for people with relatively low computer literacy
to complete and submit)
* Be secure.
I am seeing what I can do with Adobe FormsCentral, Survey Monkey, Acrobat
Pro and MS Word. Does anyone on the list have any suggestions, tips or
comments?
Cheers,
Bloss
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