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In order to save form information, form lists were created in the SharePoint site. The list
was created to contain the values entered and submitted by the users. Using JavaScript
and JQuery the values were collected, passed and saved to the SharePoint lists.
The final step is approving users requests and creating a ticket. When a user requests a
service by submitting a form, the approval of the user’s manager needs to be obtained in
order to proceed with processing the request. Hence, several forms required the approval
of managers. The aim of this last step was to automate the process of notifying manag-
ers by using the approval workflow feature provided by SharePoint. In SharePoint 2010,
workflows are a set of actions used to manage and automate certain processes. In the
case of the online forms project, workflows were created to notify users by email that
their form service request has been submitted successfully. In addition, workflows were
applied to direct the user request to their manager for approval. Once managers approve
the request an email is automatically sent to Helpdesk ticketing system, allowing the
relevant DoIT technician to provide the service to the user.
The conversion of the
forms (twelve in total) to
their online versions will
reduce time and effort for
both end users and tech-
nical staff. Moreover, the
way the online forms are
constructed will enable
users to recognise the sta-
tus of their request, get
notified of the changes
performed and increase
the response speed which
will all lead to an improved
user experience.
October 2017
| 10
DoIT Newsletter