A question protocol for government forms

Government forms should have as few questions as possible. Every additional question you ask puts a burden on the user.

If you don’t absolutely need the question – get rid of it. If you are asking the question because you might need the information later, then add the question later.

Start with questions that will let users know if they are not eligible for the service, so that you don’t waste people’s time.

As well as that – every piece of information you collect must be stored, processed and comply with data protection laws and guidelines.

You should only include a question on a form when you know:

• exactly why you need that answer to deliver the service to the user
• who will use the information and for what purpose
• whether all users need to give you all of the information
• how you will check that the information is accurate (every person that fills in ‘Joe Bloggs’ for a name is going to cost you to clean up the data later)
• how you will keep the information up to date

• use closed questions (‘Were you able to submit your claim?’ rather than ‘How satisfied were you with this process?’)
• ask questions the user understands in plain English
• change your questions (designing a form online means you can use analytics to change the form if you find people get stuck on the same question all the time)