Humanize the forms

When we create a form, we must think about the person who will answer it. Almost no one likes to fill in questionnaires, especially if they are long and complex.

To make our participants feel comfortable filling out all the answers on our form, we have to try to treat the process as a human relationship.

• Make the participant be part of the process: The first thing we should do is explain the reason of our form. If our participants understand how their answers are going to be used in the project, and how they can help achieve the goal, they will feel more encouraged to answer the questions and take their role seriously. Filling a survey can be a tedious process, but knowing that a team will work with the provided data to create a better project can motivate your participants.
• Focus on the goal and ask appropriate questions: Ask only what is strictly necessary for the purpose you have set for it. We must prevent different departments from introducing questions without a common goal. If the form is going to answer concerns of different departments, all of them should have the same goal. This way the form will have more cohesion. We should not go beyond the limits of indiscretion with our questions, or the participant may feel overwhelmed. Especially if the participants of our study are not users of our application or our services, we must treat them as unknown.
• Use a friendly tone and humanize your vocabulary: The tone used on the form should be friendly and clear. Being respectful and kind is a key point in getting good participation levels. Avoid the use of complex and technical vocabulary, even your application will be done using programming languages and will be involved in taking complex decisions, your users will have their own language and you should try to match their needs to create a successful experience.