Microsoft Forms Overview and Benefits
Our office, shopping, and educational environments have changed drastically. As more people are staying at home, leading industries have to find new methods for information gathering. Microsoft Forms, and its larger sister program, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Voice, are new ways to gather data, distribute surveys, share quizzes, and collect information through polls. Forms is used in industries from education to large corporations, thanks to its ease of use and distribution. Organization, feedback, measurements, and data collection have improved through this program.
Forms Basic How-To
As with all Microsoft programs, Forms is user-friendly. Find it in the Microsoft Office 365 Suite. Under “My Forms”, select a new form or a new quiz. Create a question, then select a question category from the following:
- Choice
- Text
- Rating
- Date
- Ranking
- Likert
- Net Promoter Score
Change the theme, if desired, then hit “Preview” to see how the survey will look. Use the “Back” button to make changes. It’s that easy! The new questionnaire is sharable on both mobile and desktop devices. Anyone with a Microsoft 365 subscription, or anyone with a Hotmail, Live, or Outlook email address can receive and take the survey. Anyone without Microsoft access can still take the survey; their answers will be anonymous.
A Word on Microsoft InfoPath
Many Microsoft 365 users compare Forms to InfoPath. However, InfoPath is a more complex form created for automated workflows. Microsoft recognized a need for a lighter program that was more user-friendly and accessible to more users. Forms is intended for this purpose. It quickly collects information through quizzes or surveys instead of being part of a larger workflow program. InfoPath is phasing into SharePoint Lists, Flow, and PowerApps, eliminating future confusion.
Microsoft FormsPro is now Dynamics 365 Customer Voice
As InfoPath is more complex, so too is Dynamics 365 Customer Voice. This program, once called Microsoft FormsPro, is built from Microsoft Forms. Surveys previously found in FormsPro will be automatically moved to Dynamics 365 Customer Voice by Microsoft. Dynamics 365 Customer Voice is a collaboration between Dynamics 365 Customer Voice and Microsoft 365, and is a larger survey program. It offers Form’s capabilities on a larger scale. It still offers simple surveys to a variety of users, but it reads the data with Power BI reports to assist in more effective decision-making.
Further, Dynamics 365 Customer Voice offers multiple surveys or forms in the same project. Give a project a theme and connect all questionnaires using that theme. Use the All Projects tab to find all surveys, the Reports tab to read responses and reports, and the Home tab for the following:
- Create a project
- Open recently accessed projects
- View satisfaction metrics
Which Do I Use?
As Dynamics 365 Customer Voice is built from Forms, the programs have many similarities. The biggest difference is the available reports and metrics through Dynamics 365 Customer Voice. With Forms, the data belongs to the survey creator and is free for interpretation. Dynamics 365 Customer Voice gives at-a-glance collaborative statistics, helping a survey creator make a faster decision. Generally, the choice in which to use depends on the reason for the information collection. When the necessary information does not necessarily have to be measured, such as participant response to a meeting, Forms works well. When the collected data is being used to measure a metric, Dynamics 365 Customer Voice is a better choice.
Pulling up a program and creating a quick survey is easier than ever using Microsoft 365. For a quickly made survey that’s easy to distribute, opt for Forms. For a survey that returns more than just answers, choose its big sister, Dynamics 365 Customer Voice. When the options become overwhelming, contact us and we’ll help you every step of the way.
