Modern Systems Analysis

and Design
Third Edition

Jeffrey A. Hoffer
Joey F. George
Joseph S. Valacich
Chapter 13
Designing Forms and Reports
Learning Objectives
*Explain the process of designing forms and reports and the deliverables
for their creation
*Discuss general guidelines for formatting forms and reports
*Use color and know when color improves the usability of information
*Learn how to effectively format text, tables and lists
*Explain how to assess usability
*Explain interface design guidelines unique to the design of Internet-based
electronic commerce systems
Designing Forms and Reports
*Forms are used to present or collect information on a
single item – customer, product, event
*Forms can be used for both input and output
*Reports are used to convey information on a collection of
items
*Quality of a system depends on the quality of its input and
output methods – design of forms and reports is an
important activity
System inputs and outputs (forms and reports) are formed
at the end of the analysis phase
*Precise appearance was not defined during this phase
*Only which ones needed and what their contents were
Forms and reports are integrally related to DFD and E-R
diagrams
*Contents of form or report correspond to the data elements
contained in the associated data flow
 Designing Forms and Reports
Key Concepts
*Form
A business document that contains some predefined data and
often include some areas where additional data are to be filled
in
*A form contains data from only one database record
*Examples – product order forms, employment applications, class
registration forms, electronic spreadsheet
*Previously forms were displayed on paper medium, now forms
can be displayed on video display terminal for data entry
*Most forms have stylized format and not simple row/columns
*Report
A business document that contains only predefined data
*A passive document for reading or viewing data
*Typically contains data from many unrelated database records
or transactions
*Examples – weekly sales summaries, pie chart of population
The Process of Designing Forms and Reports
*User-focused activity
*Follows a prototyping approach
*Requirements determination
*Who will use the form or report? (experienced or new users, their
educational and business background and knowledge)
*What is the purpose of the form or report?
*When is the report needed or used?
*Where does the form or report need to be delivered and used?
*How many people need to use or view the form or report?
*Prototyping
*Initial prototype is designed from requirements
*Users review prototype design and either accept the design or request
changes
*If changes are requested, the construction-evaluation-refinement cycle
is repeated until the design is accepted
Deliverables and Outcome
*Design specifications are major deliverable and contain three
sections
*Narrative overview – general overview of characteristics of
target users, tasks, system, environmental factors where
form or report will be used to explain to those who will
actually develop the final form
*Sample design – hand-drawn or using CASE tools
 *Testing and usability assessment

General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports

*Highlighting
*Use sparingly to draw user to or away from certain information and to group together related
information
*Blinking and audible tones should only be used to highlight critical information requiring
user’s immediate attention
*Methods should be consistently selected and used based upon level of importance of
emphasized information
Situations when highlighting can be a valuable technique:
*Notifying users of errors in data entry or processing
*Providing warnings to users about possible problems
*Drawing attention to keywords, commands, high priority messages
General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports
Color versus No-Color
*Benefits from Using Color
*Greater understanding from a display or chart
*Soothes or strikes the eye
*Accents an uninteresting display
*Facilitates subtle discriminations in complex displays
*Emphasizes the logical organization of information
*Draws attention to warnings
*Evokes more emotional reactions
*Problems from Using Color
*Color pairings may wash out or cause problems for some users
*Resolution may degrade with different displays
*Color fidelity may degrade on different displays
*Printing or conversion to other media may not easily translate

General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports

*Displaying Text
*Case: Display text in mixed upper and lower case and use conventional
punctuation
*Spacing: Use double spacing if space permits. If not, place a blank line
between paragraphs
*Justification: Left-justify text and leave a ragged right margin
*Hyphenation: Do not hyphenate words between lines
*Abbreviations: Use abbreviations and acronyms only when they are widely
understood by users and are significantly shorter than the full text
General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports
*Designing tables and lists
*Labels
*All columns and rows should have meaningful labels
*Labels should be separated from other information by using
highlighting
 *Re-display labels when the data extend beyond a single screen or
page
*Formatting columns, rows and text
Sort in a meaningful order
Place a blank line between every five rows in long columns
Similar information displayed in multiple columns should be sorted
vertically
Columns should have at least two spaces between them
Allow white space on printed reports for user to write notes
Use a single typeface, except for emphasis
Use same family of typefaces within and across displays and reports
Avoid overly fancy fonts
General Formatting Guidelines for Forms and Reports
*Formatting numeric, textual and alphanumeric data
Right-justify numeric data and align columns by decimal points or other
delimiter
Left-justify textual data. Use short line length, usually 30 to 40 characters
per line
Break long sequences of alphanumeric data into small groups of three to
four characters each
*Paper versus Electronic Reports
*Printer used for producing paper report needs to be considered in design
*Use a prototyping process similar to designing a form

Assessing Usability
*Overall evaluation of how a system performs in supporting a
particular user for a particular task
*Three characteristics
*Speed
*Accuracy
*Satisfaction

Assessing Usability
*Success Factors
*Consistency
*Design elements all appear in the same place on all forms and reports
*Table 13-8 presents usability factors and associated guidelines
*Context
*Users
*Tasks
*Environment
*Table 13-9 presents several characteristics that may influence the usability of a
design
 Assessing Usability
*Measures of Usability
Considerations
*Time to learn
*Speed of performance
*Rate of errors
*Retention over time
*Subjective satisfaction
Collection methods

*Observation
*Interviews
*Keystroke capturing
*Questionnaires
Summary
*Designing Forms and Reports
*General guidelines for designing forms and reports
*Formatting text, tables and lists
*Assessing Usability
*Interface design guidelines unique to the Internet