#26782
After the 2000 election, Design for Democracy worked with election officials in Illinois, Oregon and Nevada to design ballots, polling place signage, registration forms and other election materials. The election design system establishes a visual style, use of color, and an approach to illustrating instructions that make the ballot and polling place more usable.
Scott, Josephine. Usability Professionals Association (2006). Articles>Usability>Forms>Politics
#27463
Designing Information-Gathering Forms 
Poorly designed information-gathering forms drive up operating costs. Good design depends on a careful analysis of two users: Form-Fillers and Form Readers. Both types ofform user benefit if the form designer follows four principles of overall design. Guidelines for answer sections and user testing can also help designers produce more effective forms. Evaluation of existing forms can lead to successful revision so that costly mistakes can be avoided.
MacNealy, Mary Sue. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Document Design>Forms>Usability
#20643
Creating an online form can present developers with many challenges. This case study reviews how a paper-based form was taken through the usability engineering process to develop a functional online version. We discuss the steps in planning and research, prototype development, test design, and the usability test results.
#24552
Prevent major user annoyance by checking all your web forms: feedback, comment posting, product orders, newsletter sign-up, newsletter opt-in, unsubscribe option, site registration, etc. When a form won't submit, or otherwise fails, after user inputs lots of data, it causes extreme ill will toward your web site, and may be legal violation (UCE laws).
Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Web Design>Forms>Usability
#26634
Once an online form goes beyond two screenfulls, it's often a sign that the underlying functionality is better supported by an application, which offers a more interactive user experience.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>Web Design>Forms>Usability
#29423
Garbage In, Garbage Out: Using Affordances
The trick is to make data-entry forms clear enough that workers understand what you require of them without having to ask. This understanding alone can drastically reduce the frequency of errors, but to turn that understanding into a payback, you'll have to design a label for each field that is truly obvious to the workers. Information designers call these clues "affordances", and if you're lucky enough to have technical writers or editors in your organization, you can probably enlist their aid in designing these clues.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (1999). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Usability>Forms
#32379
Getting a Form's Structure Right: Designing Usable Online Email Applications
There are a million websites out there. There are a million email service providers out there. How do you ensure that you gain the right audience to join your service? What are those factors that will help users move ahead and become your loyal customer? Part of the answer has to do with the first step: Registration!
Kirmani, Afshan. Boxes and Arrows (2008). Articles>Web Design>Forms>Usability
#33123
Five Ways To Make Sure That Users Abandon Your Forms
What do you really need to know in your form process? Be brutal. Don't include stuff that your sales team would like. Completing a form is rarely (if ever) the goal in and of itself. The goal is to entice the user into a deeper relationship (of some sort) with your web site. Notice that I didn't say that the goal was to complete a transaction or make a sale. That is evidence of the deeper relationship, not the vehicle by which you persuade your users.
Meyer, Eric. Improving Customer Experience (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Forms
#33131
This document is concerned with what the user of a Website form "sees" and interacts with. It outlines how you can create forms for the Web that are more accessible and describes the appropriate use of.
Hudson, William. Webusability (2004). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Forms
#33133
You are writing captions or labels for fields in forms, for example 'Name' or 'Date of birth'. Should they be finished with a colon, or not?
Light, Ann. Usability News (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Forms
#33135
Forms: The Importance of Getting it Right
Urgh – it’s what we all think when presented with a form to complete, whether printed or online. What is it about forms that make us feel this way? Maybe, the history of being officious and complicated, a drain on our time, and they often make us feel stressed. As forms represent a business or an organisation, all these feelings are subsequently associated with that organisation – not good for customer relations or reputation!
Lift (2007). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Forms
#33381
Over at Smiley Cat Web Design they’ve put together a showcase of many different login and registration forms. While you’re there, take a look at some of the other showcases listed in the sidebar. They have sets for calendars and date pickers, footers, search boxes, and many more.
CyberText Consulting (2008). Articles>Web Design>Forms>Usability
#34508
Writing Questions That Are Easy to Answer 
Have you ever found it difficult to fill out a seemingly simple form? Jarrett explains how to create questions that are easy to understand and accessible by all, focusing on details, the difference between prompts and fully formed questions, questions that need more explanation, and other aspects.
Jarrett, Caroline. Intercom (2009). Articles>Usability>Forms
#35397
(Almost) Never Add a Reset Button to a Form
Next time you consider adding a reset button to a form, think it through very carefully first. Does the user really benefit from being able to reset the form? Is being able to reset the form to its initial state so valuable that it is worth the risk of the user losing the data they have entered? Probably not.
456 Berea Street (2009). Articles>Web Design>Forms>Usability
