Applications form management overview
A housing organisation will manage any number of different assets, services and additional resources through well-defined application forms. Each type of application will be linked to a unique form, structured with questions that are appropriate to the associated resource. For example, different application forms will likely exist for shared ownership lettings, sheltered housing and general needs, and quite separate to forms that are used to register interest in professional training courses or to request value-added services such as warden support. A one-to-one relationship therefore exists between the application type and the application form. When a new application is created for a group of applicants, selecting the type automatically links through to the desired form. The application type also determines whether the form exists in its own right or whether an associated enquiry must first be processed. Typically, an applicant registering interest for a training course, service or utility would only complete a single application form. In contrast, a submission to be placed on the housing register would likely be qualified through an initial enquiry form. Only if all qualifying question responses confirmed eligibility would the follow-on application be launched. This is an automatic process managed through Civica Cx Housing on selection of the application type. Each form is constructed in advance by the end user and will contain a combination of bespoke questions and system fields. These system fields - contact-centric data already stored against the applicant - will always be grouped together into logical sub-sections at the top of the form. For example, summary contact and address records will be included for each applicant in the group. As the members of the group submitting the application can change, it is a straight forward process to add or remove contact records from the form using options positioned at each section heading. Whilst topics included in this section focus specifically on the process for adding and removing contacts or addresses, the procedure is the same for all entities. As some forms can be quite extensive, the saving process only validates data entered against each completed question; the end user can therefore record and save different section or sub-section responses over any period, at their discretion, until the form is complete. All recorded responses are date stamped to maintain a historical snap shot of the form at any point in time. The ability to track individual question form responses using a date stamp enables a housing officer to analyse how an applicant's circumstances have changed during the lifetime of the application, and therefore probe any areas that are worthy of further investigation.
Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of applications form management, including: