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Introducing Collaborative Forms - Teamwork Made Easy

· 4 min read

Work Together, Submit Smarter​

Complex forms often require input from multiple departments or subject matter experts. Until now, this meant endless email chains, forwarded documents, and coordinating who has the latest version. We're excited to introduce Collaborative Forms - a feature that lets multiple team members work together on a single form submission seamlessly.

What Are Collaborative Forms?​

Collaborative Forms allow form owners to invite colleagues to help complete form submissions directly in OSPROV. Instead of working in isolation or passing forms around via email, teams can now contribute their expertise in real-time while maintaining full security and audit trails.

Think of it as Google Docs for your workflow forms - multiple people can contribute, all changes are tracked, but the original owner maintains control over the final submission.

Key Benefits​

🤝 Streamlined Collaboration​

Invite colleagues from any department to contribute their sections. Finance adds budget details, IT provides technical requirements, and HR completes personnel information - all in one place.

🔒 Built-In Security​

Your existing role-based security still applies. You can only invite colleagues who have appropriate permissions for the workflow. Every edit is logged for complete audit trails.

👁️ Full Visibility​

Everyone can see what's been completed and what's pending. The collaboration history shows exactly who did what and when, ensuring transparency and accountability.

⚡ No Learning Curve​

It works just like regular forms - but with a simple "Invite collaborators" button. Fill out your sections, save as draft, and your team members receive notifications to add their parts.

How It Works​

The process is simple and intuitive:

  1. Start Your Form: Begin a new submission in any workflow that has collaborative forms enabled
  2. Invite Team Members: Click "Invite collaborators" and select colleagues from the dropdown (filtered by their permissions)
  3. Save as Draft: When you save, invitations are sent and your collaborators can access the form
  4. Collaborate: Team members edit their sections and save drafts - all changes are tracked
  5. Submit Together: Once everyone's done, you (the owner) review and submit the final form

Important: Only the form owner can submit the final form. Collaborators can edit and save drafts, but final control stays with the person who started the submission.

Real-World Use Cases​

Budget Requests: Project managers start the request with project details, Finance adds cost analysis, and IT provides technical requirements - all contributing their expertise to one comprehensive submission.

Employee Onboarding: HR initiates the onboarding form with basic employee information, then invites department managers to specify their team's requirements and equipment needs.

Complex Proposals: A proposal owner invites subject matter experts from different teams to contribute specialized knowledge, ensuring comprehensive and accurate submissions.

Getting Started​

For Administrators​

Enable collaborative forms in just two steps:

  1. Configure Notifications (Optional but recommended):

    • Go to Settings > Notification
    • Enable "Enable notification for Invite Collaborator?"
    • Select your preferred email template

  2. Enable in Workflows:

    • Open any workflow in the Workflow Builder
    • Check "Enable collaborative forms?"
    • Save and publish

That's it! Your existing security settings automatically control who can be invited.

For Users​

Look for workflows with the green collaboration banner at the top. When you see "💡 You can invite other people to help fill this form" - you're ready to collaborate!

Best Practices​

Coordinate Your Team: While the system tracks all changes, simultaneous editing can lead to overwrites. Communicate with your team about who's editing which sections.

Save Frequently: Both owners and collaborators should save drafts often to preserve their work.

Review Before Submitting: Form owners should review all contributions before final submission to ensure completeness and accuracy.

What Makes This Special?​

Unlike traditional form delegation or forwarding systems, Collaborative Forms:

  • Keep everything in one place - no version confusion
  • Maintain complete audit trails - know exactly who changed what
  • Work within your existing security framework - no special permissions needed
  • Require no complex setup - just check a box and you're ready

Comprehensive Documentation​

We've created detailed documentation to help you make the most of this feature:

  • Collaborative Forms Guide - Complete user guide with scenarios and troubleshooting
  • How to enable and configure - Administrator setup instructions
  • Best practices - Tips for effective team collaboration
  • Troubleshooting - Common questions and solutions

We'd Love Your Feedback​

Collaborative Forms represent a new way of working together in OSPROV. We're excited to see how teams use this feature to streamline their processes and improve collaboration.

Have questions or feedback? Share your experience in the comments below, or contact our support team for assistance.

Ready to collaborate? Check if your workflows have this feature enabled, or ask your administrator to enable it for workflows that need team input. Visit our Collaborative Forms Documentation to learn more.