Maybe I missed it... but does this product have any screencasts or demos
or tours online?
Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez wrote:
> Yes, those concerns are always credible, and we've worked around some
> concerns, especially related to validation. WFG itself has pretty
> hokey, non-accessible validation built in. But we experimented with it
> and discovered we could do pretty much whatever we wanted with the form
> code, so we could use Javascript validation, .net validation, or we
> could build something server-side.
>
> There are definitely trade-offs, as with any development tool. For
> example we want to redirect a user to a One Stop page upon submission (
> "Thanks for submitting the form, and here are the expectations of when
> your appeal will be resolved.") When we add the redirect out of the WFG
> system, the whole form gets wrapped in a frame. Yuck. We complained to
> the vendor on that one. That's certainly not ideal, but on the whole,
> we've found we have pretty direct access to the markup.
>
> Santiago
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 12:33 PM, Zachary Johnson <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
> Sounds pretty interesting. When I hear "pre-existing .net tool" my
> experience immediately makes me wonder about customizing form
> markup, validation, error states, javascript hooks, etc. Often it
> seems to be the case that you get point-and-click DW routing or
> whatever at the expense of form usability and accessibility that
> looks like it was hacked together in 2001. Any credibility to my
> concerns with this particular solution?
>
> Zach
>
>
> Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez wrote:
>
> Regarding the pre-populating of form data:
>
> One Stop has tons of paper / pdf forms that need automation.
> Most of them include sensitive information. After a pretty
> detailed analysis Academic Support Resources determined that the
> type of software we needed to solve the "forms" quandary was
> generically called "workflow" software— automating the form is
> fairly trivial, but routing the data and doing the work was
> difficult to solve securely. The Graduate School and Disability
> Services, with a SPIF grant, had purchased a tool called
> "Workflow Gen", and after comparing it with some business
> criteria, we determined it was worth giving it a try, so we've
> been piloting it this year. It is not an "Enterprise" tool at
> this time, so each unit that participates is sharing the costs.
>
> WorkflowGen provides a web-based process management interface
> that plugs into a .net form. You have to build the .net form in
> Visual Studio, so hold your nose if you're a MS hater. MS
> antipathy aside, we have found that the tool is pretty efficient
> and opens the door to real service and process improvement.
> * Form authentication is via the CAH hub.
> * We are pre-populating the forms with appropriate data from
> the DW,
> providing students the opportunity to vett their PeopleSoft
> information, and linking to the "personal information"
> application
> if they see something out of date. * We can pull in data
> from the DW that is not visible on the form,
> and use that for routing logic. * Someone with a
> "business analyst" skill-set can plot out the
> routing of a form with conditional logic and notifications
> via a
> point and click interface. * Someone with a
> "junior-developer" skill-set can build the form in
> .net and template the email responses.
> There is a collaborative consortium / user group on campus
> funding and using this tool, but based on our brief pilot
> experience, we are advocating for this tool, or some sort of
> generic workflow tool like it, to be adopted as a common good
> for the enterprise.
>
> If you want to find out more about the tool, send an email to
> our User Group listserve: [log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>. We have tons of
> documentation if you want to hear more.
>
>
> Sorry I missed the meeting. Sounds very interesting!
>
> Santiago
>
> --
> Santiago Fernández-Giménez
> information architect / web project manager
> Academic Support Resources
> University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
>
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> <mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
> 612-625-6423
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 7:26 AM, Peter Wiringa <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]> <mailto:[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>> wrote:
>
> Here are a few notes from my end and some questions for the
> group.
>
> It sounded liked there was interest in a central repository
> of form
> information and including some basic form styles and elements
> in the
> templates would be useful. A general feedback form seems like
> a good
> starting point. What other types of form or multi-element
> form parts
> (i.e. EFS) might be good to include and would serve a broad
> audience?
>
> For those of you using a tool to help generate forms and
> client-side
> or server-side validation, what tools are you using? Web Form
> Factory may be generating again and provides a solid start for
> simple forms, as a I recall (PHP only).
>
> http://www.webformfactory.com/
>
> On utilizing central authentication and LDAP to improve the UX of
> form by pre-populating info, it doesn't seem like we landed on
> anything with regard to security considerations. If someone is
> signed in, and would be forced to sign in if they weren't,
> what are
> the issues with pre-populating fields using information about the
> user that's publicly available in LDAP? Here's an example of what
> might be returned.
>
> http://ur-test.umn.edu/pete/cssdev/ldap-returns.html
>
> Anyone from OIT Security on the list who can shed some light
> on this?
>
> As Chris suggested, you could attempt to pre-populate fields for
> logged in users, but not requiring people to login. Switch to
> HTTPS,
> get their cookieauth cookie, run it up against the central
> auth hub
> to get their Internet ID, and then query that. Are there
> different
> security implications for pre-populating fields in this case?
>
> Of course, directory-suppressed students won't be found in public
> searches of LDAP.
>
> Central auth info
> http://www1.umn.edu/is/cookieauth/
>
> Accessible anti-spam techniques
> http://webaim.org/blog/spam_free_accessible_forms/
>
> Good read on validation
>
> http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/07/web-form-validation-best-practices-and-tutorials/
>
>
> -- Peter Wiringa
> Electronic Communications
> University Relations
> University of Minnesota
> (612) 625-3252
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> <mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
>
>
> "I gotta hold on to my angst. I preserve it because I need it. It
> keeps me sharp, on the edge, where I gotta be." - V. Hanna
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> ______________________________
> Zachary Johnson * Web Manager
> Student Unions & Activities
> (612) 624 - 7270
> http://www.sua.umn.edu/
>
>
>
>
> --
> Santiago Fernández-Giménez
> information architect / web project manager
> Academic Support Resources
> University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
>
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> 612-625-6423
--
______________________________
Zachary Johnson * Web Manager
Student Unions & Activities
(612) 624 - 7270
http://www.sua.umn.edu/
|
