Form And Application Layout

Regardless of how powerful a form or application can be, if the layout doesn't cater to the end-user, filling out the form or running the application can become confusing and frustrating. WSI focuses on creating layouts that make sense and flow in a logical manner, thus enhancing functionality and ultimately making your life and that of your users much easier.

When we talk about form and application layout what we are really talking about is usability and process flow. You can view implementations of these strategies anywhere. What if the handle to open your car door was under the hood of the car? That situation would hinder your process of getting easily, in and out of the car.

Many times people find that usability is a common sense thing, but this is only after finding something that hinders their ability to do something.  WSI, as a forward thinking company, always strives to address these issues before they are even noticed. This is the core reason we promote this as a added service to any of our other offerings.

Contact us to find out in more detail how WSI can help you with your form and application layout needs.

In any design or development of any form there is a golden rule, "Form follows function." This statement is a direct reference to usability and process flow. Function is what any process does, form is how that function appears.

Let's look at a quick example of a process and identify it's form and function.  For our example we will use a basic contact form on a website. The "function" of the contact form is to collect information from a user and send the collected information in the form of a response to a recipient. The "form", in this case, is how the contact form is displayed to the user and how the response is formatted for the recipient. The entire process of filling out the contact form, sending it, and receiving it is the process flow.

Lets pick this process apart a little more in the form of a table that shows us the whole process flow, functions and forms.

Every function in the process has a form in which it appears. All the functions in a process and how they are organized are the process flow. Reviewing the functions and forms in a process and optimizing them for people that us them is the very essence of usability.

The more complicated a system or process is, the more attention needs to be given to process flow and its optimization. If something is difficult to users, chances are they won't use it. If your website forms or online shopping cart require 30 different steps to complete, there is a good chance that a usability issue will prevent the use and or purchase of your products and services.

WSI focuses on usability and process flow from the very start. Our designers are constantly asking, why is this step in this process?, what is this step doing?, does this step make sense to the user?

To learn more about usability, process flow optimization, and form or application layout contact one of our design specialists at either our Ames, Iowa (Midwest) or Ft Myers, Florida (Southeast) office locations.

Winning Solutions, Inc. loves to worry about the details so you don't have to. Usability and process flow analysis is in our blood, we can't help but organize things in the most efficient and effective of ways. If you don't want to worry about these things, then don't. We will take care of them for you.

Your application, its processes and usability will be taken in to consideration throughout our entire planning, design and development process. If you ever want to know more about it or have input on how to improve your process flow, we would encourage you to do so, but it is not a requirement for any project.

We have had, and continue to develop, numerous relationships with clients that are not located around either our Ames Iowa, or Ft. Myers Florida locations. Some of our clients are not even in the Midwest or Southeast.

Depending on the scope of the design services required, face-to-face meetings are not necessary to develop a custom form or application layout. Many of our clients enjoy sitting in the comfort of their own office or home and conducting a phone or shared desktop meeting with one of our trainers, developers or designers.

Our attention to detail and customer service has helped us deliver many systems without ever having a face-to-face discussion with the client. Contact either our Midwest (Ames, Iowa) office or our Fort Myers, Florida location today for a free consultation or to begin your form application layout process with us.