First of all, what is a “Web” form versus a static or client (fat) form?  Unless you live under a rock, you know every time you use the internet you are using some kind of Web form. Typically, these are HTML. Google uses them for searches, Overstock.com uses them for shipping and credit card information, your bank uses them for your login and password, and so on. Almost every site on the Web has some type of form somewhere. They’re hard to miss and hard to live without. We never really think about the importance of this simple interface.

Almost daily, the Web is being used to develop and deliver interactive and customizable applications. Many of the early applications were nothing more than a database search and some form of on-line ordering. Forms that are provided as part of the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) are not really suited for complex data entry with many dependencies between different fields. As a result, complex forms contain large scrollable areas which can be confusing. In many applications, only a small fraction of the fields really has to be filled for any given situation. Consequently, there are many fields that just distract the user and suck up screen space. You really need to “design” a form for Web use. Also, is it just me, or do you find it incredibly annoying when you fill in a form and the input is not validated until you hit enter?  Form input should be interactively validated immediately.

I remember filling in a Web form to open an account at a financial institution, and then receiving a  version in the mail only to find out I had to fill it in all over again (on paper). Many banks still do this because of regulatory issues, poor design, or because they have way too many lawyers. On the bright side, the Web actually is becoming more interactive with applications for collaboration, and corporate intranet applications are replacing proprietary interfaces to applications. Many of these applications push the Web model to its limits, especially the user interaction components. Compared to client side forms products such as PureEdge and Adobe, the Web is still a bit limited in its interactivity and versatility. However, its popularity and emergence as a standard for networked applications on the internet and intranet indicate that the interactive Web form is finally getting traction. It’s 24 x 7 with no human intervention. New standards are emerging like XForms, XFA, DHTML, etc. This means well-established user-friendly interfaces that you might typically see on a Windows or MAC desktop should be transferred to or integrated with the Web. 

Why interactive forms?

Forms are easy enough to create when they are simple, like search boxes. But what if you need them to be complex?  How do you know whether to use a client-based forms tool or a Web-based forms tool?  Which is appropriate for what application?

Certain application considerations might make the choice obvious. For example, if you are creating an e-commerce Web site that will be accessible to the public over the Internet, you would develop the application using Web Forms pages. If you are building a processing-intensive, highly responsive application that needs the full functionality of the client computer — such as an office productivity application — you would use client based forms.

You can use Web Forms to create more than just Web sites; many other applications lend themselves to a thin client as well, such as purchase order systems, benefits applications, and airline reservations. An important benefit of any Web based forms application is that it has no distribution costs. Users already have installed the browser, the only piece of the application that they need. Thorough knowledge of a programming language should not be a requirement for creating forms. In addition, support for rapid prototyping is important so that it is easy for form developers to involve their users. It is beneficial if a form can be filled out on any platform using any browser. Proprietary approaches that work only for certain browsers should be avoided (like active X – sorry, couldn’t resist).

Where there are intensive processes like supply chain, or a manufacturing process and a chain of documents needs to be filled in, interactive forms within workflow authorization (compliance and legal requirements) clearly create a cost benefit. You can even look at this from a geographic and vertical industry perspective. Process-oriented countries such as Germany have a lot of recognition and requirements for interactive forms. The same goes for banking and insurance industries that have an intensive flow of documents between the company and the intermediaries.  Sweden, with its rich background of ERP vendors (Intentia), also ranks quite high in the usage of Interactive Forms.

If you integrate this technology into a clear ecosystem with SAP, IBM, or Adobe, you can generate significant value in specific industries which would in turn stimulate market momentum.

Forms and SOA

Web or interactive forms applications are platform-independent; that is, they are "reach" applications. Users can interact with your application regardless of what type of browser they have and even what type of computer they are using. Interactive forms are a result of an industry-wide shift to open, service-oriented architectures from proprietary approaches.  According to my CTO, Dennis Ladd, SOA’s integration by design makes it feasible to wrap rich product functionality around individual transactions, rather than around a server, database, or entire application. In the past, this would have been infeasible due to the cost of integration. Now, a “mortgage application” can have its own feature set separately from a backend application, allowing it to have its own features, business rules, and behavior.  In essence, it is now free to traverse an application landscape rather than being bound to a single database or program. Thus each time the back-end applications change, the desktop app for the end user need not change, thus avoiding length and costly rollouts to end user. 
The new age enterprise will embrace SOA technologies like interactive forms to rapidly respond to market innovations and demand. It will be integrated within the platforms of ERP, CRM, ECM, and solutions that are very transactional and document based…which is just about everything.

StreamServe is a global leader in dynamic document composition, delivery, and document management software solutions for ERP and CRM systems.