Saving thousands of volunteer hours while improving data security

Our design team set off to come up with an accordion style form that expands and collapses so that a user only sees the questions pertaining to a specific section. The application form was broken down into 7 sections. By numbering each section the parent never had to wonder how far through the process they were, potentially losing patience and giving up.

All successful applications are stored in the national charity's database which is extremely secure with multiple security measures in place. All data is transferred via a bespoke API which has extremely strict protocols requiring us to validate all data fields (where a user enters information) to ensure it is formatted correctly. This includes detecting erroneous characters, such as letters in telephone numbers and invalid email formats. These checks all happen in real time, as the user completes the form. Users are presented with appropriate error messages if they haven't completed any part of the form correctly.

Each application received must be approved by the relevant unit. The application won't be sent to the database until it is approved by the unit officer. They are emailed with the ability to accept or decline the application. Once accepted the entire application is transmitted to the database.

With such a large amount of information required, it is inevitable that something will go wrong; internet outage, phone battery dies, the user has to pop out. In these situations, it doesn't matter, the form automatically saves the data already entered for a short period of time so that it can be continued where they left off. Sea Cadets were concerned that parents would not continue an application if something caused them to be required to re-enter information they'd already spent time entering.