Paperwork is received 25% slower and has 50% more errors than mobile forms. There’s also more risks of data entry errors and more chances of losing or damaging relevant information which can be a major problem for business.
Mobile forms permit you automate data collection and allow you to send information in real-time from a mobile device.
Mobile data brings many advantages to organizations as they can move from paper data collection to mobile forms to take advantage of the key features of mobile technology.
What are mobile forms?
Mobile forms are applications designed for smartphones and tablets that allow form generation and submission. Mobile forms present a way for companies to fill and submit information without using traditional paper forms or paper documents.
Before converting your paper surveys into mobile forms, you should re-evaluate the objectives of your data collection, and what type of data needs to be gathered in order to achieve those goals. The first step is to answering the following questions:
- Why are you gathering data? What questions need to be asked to provide that information?
- Who are the stakeholders who need to access this data? In what forms will they need to access it?
- Can mobile systems catch that data?
Answering these questions can help you to decide the best way to collect and store that data.
Advantages of using mobile forms for data collection
Making the switch from paper forms to mobile forms can bring many benefits to your company. Some of them are:
Cost reduction
Although the adoption of mobile data collection tools has some upfront costs, it can lead to big savings in the long term. A World Bank study found that average interview cost was reduced by up to 71%.
Data collection using paper forms requires double data entry where somebody enters data in paper and another person transfers that data into the computer. Eliminating these procedures would lower costs allowing you to save resources and money.
Speed
Mobile forms can collect data on mobile devices and immediately submit it for analysis. The traditional data collection model need to send paper forms back to the office to be transcribed and filed away, wasting time and
Meta-Data
This is the data collected in the back-end by the system and it is the information that describes when, where, and by whom the data was collected. The access to this information is one of the major benefits of using mobile technology for your forms.
Manual data can be entered incorrectly and the process can be quiet slow. Mobile apps using mobile forms allow you to collect information accurately that can be updated automatically and could be accessible to the members of the team that need to work with it
Rich media
Mobile data collection allows you to gather a wide range of data that can be captured and displayed through rich media. Alongside with the form, you can include pictures, videos, audio files and more.
Rich media can supply information that forms cannot provide.
Data validation
Collecting information with paper forms requires human interaction that can lead to mistakes or errors. Automating data validation processes is essential to any mobile data collection in order to increase accuracy and efficiency.
Using mobile forms, data can be validated immediately. In addition, since real-time data is instantly uploaded, managers can be informed straight away when action needs to be taken.
Efficiency
Mobile data collection also eliminates delays in completing necessary paperwork and getting it sent to the right person, making workflows and reporting faster. Mobile forms can reduce the time, resources, and cost of extracting necessary information from the field, while improving the quality of the information collected.
Privacy
Storing meta-data and rich data is safer than using paper forms. Companies than gather and store data should to try to answer the following questions before choosing a data collection tool:
- Is your data collection system safe and secure?
- Do you have in place a system to ensure users only can see their relevant information?
For all of these reasons, many organizations are switching from paper to mobile data collection for their field work.
Is your data collection system safe and secure?
The integrity and security of information and data collection safe is paramount for any organization. Today, when security risks are a big issue for many industries, you should use the most effective way to handle and store any sensitive information.
Mobile forms are a safe way to collect relevant information without putting at risk your company or your clients’ security. Keep in mind that to handle sensitive information, you need to have in place a system that ensure high levels of security and must provide relevant training to your employees.
Converting to digital forms on smartphones and tablets is the way of today’s business processes. If you’d like to learn more about how you can get the most of mobile data collection, we’re always happy to help at info@mydatascope.com.
DataScope is a platform which allows various industries to streamline, organize and evaluate the work of their field staffs thanks to online forms which provide real time indicators 100% adaptable to any field.
