On our recent Insiders call we talked about what we are working on now and what’s coming up next. We wanted to share a bit more detail about ODK Web Forms so you know what to expect over the next few months.
As we noted in our initial announcement about Web Forms, our goal is to create a consistent user experience with Collect and ensure a smooth roll-out. To achieve this, we’ve broken up the work into 4 phases with outcomes and examples of features we will be implementing during each of those phases with ongoing user feedback.
The planned work is not a comprehensive list, but will give you a sense of some of the features we will be working on. As we look further out in the future it gets more uncertain because we will learn and iterate as we get user feedback and plan beyond Phase 4.
Phase 0: Product Discovery (done ✅)
Outcome:
- Prototype to test our assumptions
- Derisk known complexity
Features:
- Make initial tech and architecture decisions
- Derisk question types such as repeats, translations, etc
Phase 1: Share with community (now)
Outcome:
- Users can preview web forms in Central and in a standalone service
- Users try their forms and give feedback to help shape the next phases
Features:
- Share the design and implementation process
- Build the most common question types (appearances, validation feedback, form attachments (including Entity Lists))
Research:
Based on user research so far, we know users expect consistency with Collect, which has been particularly challenging with geo functionality. A few insights we’ve heard so far based on experiences with geo questions in Enketo:
- Capturing the location on mobile is very difficult, but important for self-reporting and for folks not using Collect (e.g. citizen reporting). Regardless of device size, location questions will be responsive and users will know they've captured the location.
- Users often add the coordinates first rather than using the map, which is why information is captured incorrectly. We aim to design an experience where data collectors can interact with the map first and have the option to manually add the coordinates if necessary.
- Offline layers aren't available. We know offline layers are important for both Collect and Web Forms, which is it is prioritized in phase 4.
Phase 2: Beta (next, likely starting late 2024)
Outcome:
- Users can opt in to Web Forms for individual forms in Central
- Users can clearly identify which of their forms will work with Web Forms and which ones won’t
Features:
- Enable users to send, edit, and view submissions
- Expand more specialized functionality (geo, annotations, submission attachments)
Phase 3: Release (later)
Outcome:
- All new forms in Central use Web Forms by default
- Users can revert to Enketo for functionality such as offline use
Features:
- Implement less common functionality (e.g query parameters)
- Add ability to switch modes (one question vs list, grid, etc)
Phase 4: Offline functionality (later)
Outcome:
- Users can work offline and understand what happens to their data
- Users can install forms and/or projects as a progressive web app
Features:
- Add visual feedback for when users are working offline
- Implement offline map layers
Stay up-to-date with our progress 
We will continue to share our progress here and update the product roadmap. We also have a feature matrix that you can use to check what we’ve built, so you can determine when you may want to make the switch.
Want to give feedback? 
If you’re interested in telling us more about how you want to use web forms and provide deeper feedback, you can comment below and we’ll schedule a user interview. You’ll also be able to check it out on your own in the next Central release and let us know what you think!