Electonic forms (e-forms) have a number of advantages over paper based forms. These advantages are realised through a combination of good design and an appropriate use of technology.

Despite these advantages, e-forms can be as frustrating to complete as paper-based forms. This is often the result of organisations seeing the move to e-forms as nothing more than a conversion process that will ultimately lead to signifiant savings through paper reduction. That is, we take what we have on paper and we simply convert it to an electronic medium.

The problem with this approach is that if the paper-based form is inefficent, the shift to an electronic medium merely automates this inefficiency. In other words, we do not improve productivity. Instead we increase inefficiency.