Survey redesign · A citizen campaign in Bengaluru · Web, in English and Kannada
Water Audit
A long form turned into a short, guided audit that shows people their own water situation as they answer.
Water Satyagraha, a campaign for water rights in Bengaluru, asks households to fill in a water audit: where their water comes from, what goes wrong with it, and what it really costs them in a year. Every completed audit becomes evidence for the campaign. The first version was a standard form on the campaign’s website, and it did the job. But it asked a lot of people before it gave them anything back.
Nobody asked for this.
The form worked, and no one asked me to change it. I rebuilt it anyway, because a form only helps a campaign if people finish it, and a long page of questions in one language is easy to leave halfway. I kept every question the campaign needed and changed how it feels to answer them.
Before
- Every question on one long page, so the effort is visible before you start.
- English only.
- A standard web form, with nothing that responds to your answers apart from the cost totals.
After
- One question at a time, with “Question 1 of 10”, a progress bar, and “about 3 minutes” said up front.
- English or Kannada, chosen on the first screen and switchable at any point.
- An illustrated scene of the household’s water, from the river to the tap, that builds itself as you answer, so every answer gives something back.
- Designed for phones first, which is where most people open a campaign link.
Less at once
People usually leave a form at the moment it starts to look like work. One question per screen keeps every step small, and the progress bar shows how close the end is.
In their own language
Many households in Bengaluru are more at ease in Kannada. Offering it on the very first screen tells them the audit is meant for them, not just for people who read English.
Something back
As the scene fills in with each answer, people watch their own water situation take shape. That is a reason to keep going, and a reason to share it.
My role
I noticed the problem, redesigned the audit end to end and built it: the question flow, the English and Kannada screens, and the illustrated scene that responds to each answer. The same thinking goes into every enquiry form and booking flow I build: fewer reasons to stop, more reasons to finish.