On-line Forms Project
Project Information
A sub-project of workstream 3.1 Business Process Re-Engineering has commenced with the ambitious goal of ensuring all forms are available, able to be completed, and eventually submitted, online.
Each of our business functions (HR, Finance, IS, etc.) has a variety of paper-based forms in use These typically require an authorising signature and then submission in a hard-copy form to a business unit for actioning. This is wasteful both in dollar and environmental terms, and also results in delay and errors.
Another planned outcome will be to produce some best-practice guidelines and resources for other university form developers.
Update - October 2009
Most existing forms have been conversion to the new format. Melbourne Research and Human Resources have completed this exercise, while Record Services and Finance and Planning will continue to release Word forms to users as they are developed. The project team have now concluded their work on stage 1 and the Working Group disbanded.
The goals and benefits
The goal is to provide an on-line method to complete forms that includes:
- Typed data (eliminate illegibility)
- Drop-down menus with pre-populated options (eliminate incorrect data)
- ‘electronic’ signatures (speed up authorisation)
- Improved transmission (no internal mail, lost forms, delay)
- No copying required (electronic record rather than duplicated filing).
Planned Outcomes
Stage 1
Roll-out of basic Word forms, which can be completed electronically. At this stage:
- forms will have been evaluated and improved
- they will be able to be completed online
- completed data can be saved
Stage 2
Best-practice guidelines, policies and templates will be made available to university form developers.
Stage 3: Long-term
In the longer term we are investigating the case for further improving the intelligence of our electronic forms, including how data can be exchanged with other university information systems.