After the 2018 Comic Con International: San Diego wrapped up this weekend, we’ve been sucked back into the vortex that’s formally known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). So, based on what everyone has been chattering about this week, here’s a post of mobile form design lessons from the Avengers.
Though they’re now divided into Team Cap and Team Iron Man, the Avengers are the heroes everyone looks up to, regardless of age. Their stories, be they told in comic books or via the silver screen, have inspired in more ways than one. In the case of TransformTek’s form designers, the Avengers have ignited our creativity and provided us with insights we’d love to share before you design your next set of mobile forms.
Don’t Make ‘SNAP’ Decisions about Users
*cough Pun Intended cough* Thanos was motivated to do what he did by his need to strike a balance across the galaxy. Unfortunately, wiping out half the population did more bad than good. For starters, it made some of the world’s saviors bite the dust (literally?).
So, what do we learn from this?
Always design your mobile forms with ALL USERS in mind. By this, we mean the workers who will be using your forms as well as others such as managers receiving them, back office personnel auditing them, and analytics personnel analyzing them. Only then can you truly get the most from these digital forms.
Make Sure Your Forms Improve Communication across Your Enterprise
In addition to high efficiency and productivity, your mobile forms need to ensure better communication across teams. This is a valuable lesson anyone who watched Avengers: Age of Ultron. Maybe if Tony Stark submitted a request for using a super advanced AI to complete the Ultron global defense program, things *cough Civil War cough* wouldn’t have happened.
So, make sure your mobile forms ask the right questions and communicate valuable information. To complement their data collection capabilities, ensure they’re part of an automated workflow. For instance, makeen transform allows you to integrate Microsoft Flow to automate tasks and form submissions.
Carefully Consider Updates to Better Match Modern Needs
While Iron Man still has one of the best hero suits out there, the new, upgraded Suit 17-A which Spiderman Rocked got many nods. Its capabilities combined with Peter’s, enhancing his performance until Star Lord made a mess of things…. *yes, I’m salty*
Yet back to our lessons, your mobile forms need to do more than just collect data via mobile devices. They should help automate your workflow, simplify analyzing data for decision makers, and overall enhance your overall productivity. So, consider upgrading your mobile forms solution if all it does is collect information and send it via email.
Set an Example for Others to Ensure the Action You Want
The Black Panther has always set good examples for his people and other heroes. He would never tell his people to charge if he himself isn’t out there leading him. Because of that, his army and people don’t make mistakes which can put their beloved Wakanda at risk.
Taking a page from The Black Panther’s book, provide examples which end users can use while filling out their forms. With makeen transform’ Sub-Forms, you can create a block of controls which can be re-used in different forms. You can fill the controls of a Sub-Form with dummy values, indicating how a certain section can be filled.
Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Location Tracking
If you watched the latest Ant-Man and the Wasp, you probably understand why location tracking is vital. While the van Dynes and Hank Pym are out of commission *cough*, others who made it such as Cassie Lang would want to know about Scott’s location. Even the Giant Pet Ant will want to know when he’ll get some sugar cubes after playing the drums for so long.
With this in mind, make sure your mobile forms include fields which allow decision-makers to track down members of the workforce. For instance, you can add the Location control to your makeen transform App forms to allow end users to enter their location coordinates using GPS.
Don’t Fear Change; Embrace it for the Sake of Others
Form designers are humans, which means their egos can affect their ability to accept feedback and make changes. Reflecting back on Doctor Strange’s behavior in Infinity Wars, he probably could have saved humanity a little earlier by simply accepting Stark’s suggestion to destroy the Time Stone.
So, rather than have your mobile forms remain unused, be open to feedback and incorporate changes wherever possible. If you can’t, however, make a change, don’t pull a Loki and blatantly mention a user can “never be a god”. Instead, discuss what can and can’t be done, and be open to listening to what the others have to say.
Consider Experience, Experience
While Loki may be the last person you’d want to learn anything from, there’s a lot of truth in his last exchange with Thanos. Everything is an experience – failure, success, and even stagnation. Learn from the forms you create and find out what others have to say about them. Only then can you truly create the ultimate mobile forms for your enterprise.
Still haven’t created your own set of mobile forms? You can sign up for Transform Studio easily and start creating your first few forms for free. Don’t let regrets haunt you later; become your enterprise’s hero and help the workforce become productive with these digital forms.
