Before you start designing your enterprise's mobile forms, you need to have a proper plan in hand. To help you get the most from your forms, here are some important tips from our experts. 


Lay Out the Concept of the Form

Evaluate the purpose of the mobile form, and take into consideration who will be using it. Your goal should be to create a mobile form that solves a business problem, streamlines an operation, and/or improves the efficiency of the employees/department using it. You can get inspired by the free mobile forms offered whenever you create a new app in transform Studio. 



Before you start designing your mobile forms, do check the mobile form design guides listed here to get the task done right. 


Get Input from All Stakeholders

Factor in the opinions of those who will use the mobile form. Run your design ideas by them and let them offer their own insight as well. That way, you can create a form that is easy to use, focused on purpose, and capable of meeting your business objectives. Preferably design a basic version of the form with all the controls you wish to add, install it on the transform app, and let them use it to collect data. 


Map the Forms' Functionality

Once you have the design down, it's time for you to plan the behavior of the form. Some of the items you need to consider include, but aren't limited to:

  • Database Connectivity - Decide whether you wish to use data in your enterprise's MsSQL or MySQL databases in your forms, or submit data to them.
  • Business Systems Integrations - Like databases, you can configure your mobile forms to fetch data from business systems that use the REST or SOAP API.
  • Access Control - Determine whether users need to be authenticated before accessing your mobile forms. Another aspect to plan is whether or not you wish to restrict access to certain forms according to user roles. 


Establish Environments for Your App

Now that you have your mobile forms planned, it's time for you to start creating them. Before you fire up the Page Designer, though, create three versions (a.k.a. instances) of your app in transform Studio: Dev, Stage, and Prod. Each of these reflects the three development environments: Development, Stage, and Production, and here's what they mean. 

  • Dev - This version of the app is where you will be actually designing your forms, configuring connectors, etc. Therefore, only form designers will have access to this instance.
  • Stage - Once form designers thoroughly test and approve the mobile forms they create, they can migrate the forms to the Stage instance. This app will be provided to business users and pilot groups to test the forms and provide their feedback.
  • Prod - After the forms have been thoroughly tested and approved, they are migrated to the Production instance. This version of the app will be available for end-users to download and use right away.

Creating three instances instead of only relying on one simplifies the development process. For instance, creating the Stage app allows form designers to work closely with business users. This, in turn, ensures faster development cycles and quicker delivery.


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