Guides › Managing a Team
Redesign a form people keep filling in wrong
A clearer version of a confusing form or report, with only the fields that matter, better wording and a note on what changed.
When to use it
When a form or report causes errors, delays or complaints
Step by step
Capture the current form
Take a photo or screenshot of the form or report, or copy its fields into a document. Blank out any real personal details.
Collect the complaints
Note the usual mistakes, what the information is used for and who reads it.
Ask for a redesign
Attach the image and paste this prompt into your AI assistant.
Prompt to copyHere is our current [form or report name]. It's used by [who fills it in] and read by [who uses it] to [purpose]. Common problems: [list]. Review it and: 1) list every field and say whether to keep, merge, reword or remove it, with a reason, 2) suggest the best order, 3) rewrite labels and help text in plain English, 4) suggest which fields should be dropdowns or tick boxes to reduce errors, 5) give the redesigned form as a clean list of fields, 6) summarise what changed in 3 bullet points for staff.Build and trial it
Rebuild it in Google Forms, Microsoft Forms or your usual template and trial it with a few users for a week.
Agree the final version
Share the trial feedback and the change summary with the form's owner before replacing the old one.
What you get
Remove: 'Department code' (system adds it). Merge: 'Date requested' and 'Date needed' into 'Needed by'. Reword: 'Justification' to 'Why do you need this? (one line)'. Dropdown: 'Cost centre', to stop typos. Fields cut from 18 to 11.
Tips
- Ask who reads each field. If nobody can say, it's a good candidate to remove.