I think the point to these kinds of forms (and forms in general) is to differentiate between what information you
need, and the information you just thought about and added to fill the empty space.
Case in point. The POS system we use has a system for adding customer information; here's what it asks for:
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I know that one could argue that this is all useful information. But, come on. Do we really need an office phone number, cell phone AND an additional phone number? Is job Authority critical information? When has country ever been anything but the US? Is Industry type relevant? And what do we need a birthday for? Anyone here want to ask their female customers what their birthday is? How about we add a field where we can enter the weight of the customer (why not)?
Almost all of this we leave blank, and that's why I say that it is poorly designed and a waste of time.
Whatever you do, take the time to really ask yourself if the information is useful. Is it
really useful? Why?
The goal (in my opinion) is to make any form sleek and efficient - easy to fill out, has the info you'll need, and nothing else.
