Capability template for design and user experience
Lead form field review
When a client questions a long inquiry form or abandoned submissions, the conversion lead gets a field-by-field review: what each field is used for downstream, where people leave, and proposed labels, error messages and test questions. The lead and the client's data owner decide every change.
Listed under
Add it to a workflow in the Fully Powered Planner, beside the teams and roles that will run it. Book a fit call
The outcome
The argument about the form stops being about opinion. Every field the form asks for is set beside the use someone made of the answer after submission, and beside the number of people who reached it and the number who left there. Where nobody can say what a field is for, the review says so plainly and hands the question to the person who can answer it.
Each field that needs attention becomes a numbered finding with its facts, a proposed label or error message where the current one does not help, and a test question the team could answer by comparing versions. The review never says a change will raise completions, and it never decides that a field goes.
Fields the client has said are required for consent or for the business are kept. The review may suggest clearer words for them; it does not suggest dropping them.
Who starts the work, and when
The conversion lead starts it when a client questions a long inquiry form or the share of people who start it and do not finish. The client's data owner supplies what each field is used for and approves any change to a field; the conversion lead decides what goes forward.
Developers change the form only after both have approved. The template edits no form and contacts no one.
What they supply
- The form definition: each field in order, with its label, type, whether it is required, its choices or format rule and the message shown when it is rejected.
- The completion export for a stated period, as a file: for each field, how many people reached it, how many filled it, how many times a validation message was shown and how many left at that field. No lead records and no personal details are needed, only counts.
- Field-use notes from the client's data owner: what each answer is used for, by which role, at which step of the follow-up, and whether a consent or business requirement makes it required.
- The follow-up process, as numbered steps from the first reply onward.
- The data requirements the client has supplied, each with a reference and an owner.
- A few settings: the period, the as-of date, the totals for the form, and the flag levels for exits and for validation messages.
No connection to the form tool, the website or the customer records is needed, and no sign-in details are asked for.
What comes out
One document in a fixed order: the form's totals, a block for every field in the form's order, numbered findings, the fields with no finding, the fields held as required, what could not be assessed, and a closing line on where every figure comes from.
Good looks like this: the client's data owner can read any finding, see which note and which export row it rests on, and know what is being asked of them.
An invented example
Illustrative example with invented data. The client, its form, the web address (on the reserved example domain), the roles, the counts and the notes below are all invented. Client R is an invented commercial cleaning company whose quote request form the client's operations director has begun to question. The conversion lead at the agency ran the review, with the field-use notes written by the client's data owner. First come the inputs the conversion lead supplied, in full, then the review the capability returned.
The inputs
1. Review settings
Client: Client R (an invented commercial cleaning company)
Form: Request a quote, at https://clientr.example/quote
Period: 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-31
As-of date: 2026-11-09
Form changed during the period: no
Form views: 4200
Form starts: 1260
Submissions: 340
Data needed by stage: 2
Exit flag: 10 percent of those who reached the field
Validation flag: 15 percent of those who reached the field
Minimum reached to judge a field: 100
Conversion lead: the agency's conversion lead
Client data owner: Client R's operations director
Report goes to: conversion lead and client data owner
2. Form definition (form_fields.csv)
field_order,field_label,field_type,required,choices_or_rule,validation_message,shown_when
1,Full name,text,yes,,,always
2,Work email,email,yes,Work address only; free webmail domains rejected,Not valid,always
3,Phone number,tel,yes,10 digits with no spaces or symbols,Error in field,always
4,Company,text,yes,,,always
5,Your role,text,yes,,,always
6,Number of sites,dropdown,yes,1; 2 to 5; 6 to 10; 11 or more,,always
7,Annual budget,dropdown,yes,"Under 20,000; 20,000 to 50,000; Over 50,000",,always
8,Details,textarea,no,,,always
9,How did you hear about us,dropdown,no,Search; Referral; Social media; Other,,always
10,I agree to be contacted about my enquiry,checkbox,yes,Must be ticked,Required,always
3. Completion export (completion.csv)
field_label,reached,filled,errors,exits_here
Full name,1260,1200,0,60
Work email,1200,1110,210,90
Phone number,1110,830,330,280
Company,830,790,0,40
Your role,790,640,0,150
Number of sites,640,570,0,70
Annual budget,570,380,0,190
Details,380,150,0,20
How did you hear about us,360,240,0,10
I agree to be contacted about my enquiry,350,340,25,10
4. Field-use notes (field_use.csv)
field_label,used_for,used_by,first_used_stage,required_by,requirement_ref,note
Full name,Greeting in the first reply and the contact record,Sales coordinator,1,none stated,,
Work email,Where the reply and the quote are sent; key to the contact record,Sales coordinator,1,none stated,,
Phone number,Booking the site survey after a quote is accepted,Survey scheduler,3,none stated,,Quotes go by email.
Company,Existing-client check and the quote header,Sales coordinator,1,business,DR3,
Your role,,,,none stated,,Nobody could say what it is for. Added in a redesign.
Number of sites,Chooses the quote template,Sales coordinator,2,none stated,,Quote templates are 1 site; 2 to 9 sites; 10 or more.
Annual budget,Sorting new leads into priority bands on Monday mornings,Sales manager,1,business,DR2,
Details,Special requests for the quote,Sales coordinator,2,none stated,,
How did you hear about us,Monthly source report,Marketing lead,report,none stated,,
I agree to be contacted about my enquiry,Record of permission to contact,Sales coordinator,1,consent,DR1,Wording is held by the data owner.
5. Follow-up process
Stage 1. First reply: the sales coordinator replies by email within one business day. New leads are sorted by budget band on Monday mornings.
Stage 2. Quote: a quote is sent within three business days, using one of three templates chosen by the number of sites, with special requests taken from the form.
Stage 3. Site survey: after the client accepts the quote, the survey scheduler phones to book the survey.
6. Data requirements
DR1. Permission to contact must be recorded before anyone is contacted. Owner: client data owner.
DR2. Every lead carries a budget band so the sales manager can sort leads. Owner: sales manager.
DR3. Company name is needed to check whether the lead is already a client. Owner: sales coordinator.
The review
LEAD FORM FIELD REVIEW: Request a quote, Client R
For: the conversion lead and the client data owner. Period 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-31; as of 2026-11-09. Form changed in the period: no.
Form: 4,200 views, 1,260 starts (30.0% of views), 340 submissions (27.0% of starts), 920 left before submitting. Check: exits by field add to 920 = 1,260 - 340. Most exits: Phone number 280, Annual budget 190, Your role 150, together 620 of 920 (67.4%).
Follow-up stages as supplied: 1 First reply; 2 Quote; 3 Site survey. The form must supply what is needed by stage 2.
FIELD BY FIELD
1. Full name (text, required)
Use: greeting in the first reply and the contact record, by the sales coordinator, first used at stage 1. Required by: nothing stated. Status: used at stage 1.
Completion: reached 1,260, filled 1,200 (95.2%), left here 60 (4.8%), validation message shown 0 times (0.0% of those who reached it).
Finding: none.
2. Work email (email, required)
Use: where the reply and the quote are sent; key to the contact record, by the sales coordinator, first used at stage 1. Required by: nothing stated. Status: used at stage 1.
Completion: reached 1,200, filled 1,110 (92.5%), left here 90 (7.5%), validation message shown 210 times (17.5% of those who reached it).
Finding: 1.
3. Phone number (tel, required)
Use: booking the site survey after a quote is accepted, by the survey scheduler, first used at stage 3. Required by: nothing stated. Status: used later than the form needs it (stage 3).
Completion: reached 1,110, filled 830 (74.8%), left here 280 (25.2%), validation message shown 330 times (29.7% of those who reached it).
Finding: 2.
4. Company (text, required)
Use: existing-client check and the quote header, by the sales coordinator, first used at stage 1. Required by: DR3, company name is needed to check whether the lead is already a client. Status: required by business requirement DR3.
Completion: reached 830, filled 790 (95.2%), left here 40 (4.8%), validation message shown 0 times (0.0% of those who reached it).
Finding: none.
5. Your role (text, required)
Use: not stated. Required by: nothing stated. Status: use not stated.
Completion: reached 790, filled 640 (81.0%), left here 150 (19.0%), validation message shown 0 times (0.0% of those who reached it).
Finding: 3.
6. Number of sites (dropdown, required)
Use: chooses the quote template, by the sales coordinator, first used at stage 2. Required by: nothing stated. Status: used at stage 2.
Completion: reached 640, filled 570 (89.1%), left here 70 (10.9%), validation message shown 0 times (0.0% of those who reached it).
Finding: 4.
7. Annual budget (dropdown, required)
Use: sorting new leads into priority bands on Monday mornings, by the sales manager, first used at stage 1. Required by: DR2, every lead carries a budget band so the sales manager can sort leads. Status: required by business requirement DR2.
Completion: reached 570, filled 380 (66.7%), left here 190 (33.3%), validation message shown 0 times (0.0% of those who reached it).
Finding: 5.
8. Details (textarea, optional)
Use: special requests for the quote, by the sales coordinator, first used at stage 2. Required by: nothing stated. Status: used at stage 2.
Completion: reached 380, filled 150 (39.5%), left here 20 (5.3%), validation message shown 0 times (0.0% of those who reached it).
Finding: 6.
9. How did you hear about us (dropdown, optional)
Use: monthly source report, by the marketing lead, first used outside the follow-up stages. Required by: nothing stated. Status: used outside the follow-up (monthly source report).
Completion: reached 360, filled 240 (66.7%), left here 10 (2.8%), validation message shown 0 times (0.0% of those who reached it).
Finding: none.
10. I agree to be contacted about my enquiry (checkbox, required)
Use: record of permission to contact, by the sales coordinator, first used at stage 1. Required by: DR1, permission to contact must be recorded before anyone is contacted. Status: required by consent requirement DR1.
Completion: reached 350, filled 340 (97.1%), left here 10 (2.9%), validation message shown 25 times (7.1% of those who reached it).
Finding: 7.
FINDINGS
1. Work email, Validation
Facts: the validation message was shown 210 times to the 1,200 who reached the field (17.5%, over the 15% flag); 90 (7.5%) left here, under the 10% flag. The message reads "Not valid", which is generic. The rule on the form is "Work address only; free webmail domains rejected".
Proposed label: no change proposed.
Proposed error message: "Use a work email address. Addresses from free webmail services are not accepted."
Test question: of the 210 times the message was shown, how many were followed by a corrected entry and how many by leaving the form? This export does not hold it; ask for the form tool's error log.
Question for the conversion lead and the client data owner: who set the work-address rule, and does the sales coordinator depend on it? The review assumes neither answer.
2. Phone number, Use, Exits, Validation
Facts: left here 280 of 1,110 (25.2%, over the 10% flag), the most exits of any field (280 of 920, 30.4%). The validation message was shown 330 times (29.7%, over the 15% flag) and reads "Error in field"; the rule is "10 digits with no spaces or symbols". The field is required on the form. Its stated use is booking the site survey at stage 3, after the quote is accepted; quotes go by email; the form must supply what is needed by stage 2. No data requirement names it.
Proposed label: if the field stays, "Phone number (to book your site survey)", from the use note's words.
Proposed error message: "Enter the phone number as 10 digits, with no spaces or symbols."
Test question: compare the form as it is now with a version where the phone number is optional: what share of those who start finish (now 340 of 1,260, 27.0%)? The export answers that for a later period; whether the survey scheduler still reaches every client who accepts a quote needs the scheduler's records.
Question for the conversion lead and the client data owner: the options are keep it as it is (with the proposed label and message), make it optional, ask for it later (at quote acceptance), or remove it. Which, if any, goes to developers? No option is recommended.
3. Your role, Use, Exits
Facts: left here 150 of 790 (19.0%, over the 10% flag). The field is required on the form. The note says nobody could say what it is for. No data requirement names it.
Proposed label: no change proposed; there is no stated use to build a label from.
Proposed error message: no change proposed; no validation message was shown.
Test question: compare the current form with a version where the field is optional: what share of those who start finish (now 340 of 1,260, 27.0%)? The export answers that for a later period.
Question for the conversion lead and the client data owner: what is this field used for, by whom, and at which stage? The options are keep it as it is, make it optional, ask for it later, or remove it. No option is recommended; until a use is stated the review treats the field as neither needed nor unneeded.
4. Number of sites, Exits, Choices
Facts: left here 70 of 640 (10.9%, over the 10% flag). The choices on the form are "1; 2 to 5; 6 to 10; 11 or more"; the quote templates are "1 site; 2 to 9 sites; 10 or more", so a lead choosing "6 to 10" cannot be matched to one template. The field is used at stage 2, in time.
Proposed label: no change proposed.
Proposed error message: no change proposed; no validation message was shown.
Test question: with choices that follow the templates, how many leads need the sales coordinator to ask the number of sites again, set against the share who leave here now (10.9%)? The export cannot answer the first part; the coordinator's records would.
Question for the conversion lead and the client data owner: should the choices follow the quote templates, or the templates follow the choices?
5. Annual budget, Exits, Choices
Facts: left here 190 of 570 (33.3%), the highest share of any field and over the 10% flag. The field is required by DR2, so the review holds it as required and offers no option to remove it or make it optional. The choices are "Under 20,000; 20,000 to 50,000; Over 50,000": 20,000 and 50,000 each appear as the edge of two choices, so the choice for exactly that figure is not clear from the words. The use note says the answer sorts new leads into priority bands.
Proposed label: no change proposed.
Proposed error message: no change proposed; no validation message was shown.
Test question: if the choices say which band 20,000 and 50,000 each belong to, does the share who leave here change from now (33.3%)? The export answers that for a later period; whether leads fall in the band the sales manager intends needs the sales manager's records.
Question for the conversion lead and the client data owner: which band does the sales manager give a lead at exactly 20,000, and at exactly 50,000?
6. Details, Label
Facts: filled by 150 of the 380 who reached it (39.5%); left here 20 (5.3%, under the flag). The label "Details" is a bare generic word that names nothing to enter. The use note says the field is read at stage 2 for special requests for the quote.
Proposed label: "Special requests for the quote (optional)".
Proposed error message: no change proposed; no validation message was shown.
Test question: does the proposed label change how many fill the field (now 39.5%)? The export answers that for a later period.
Question for the conversion lead and the client data owner: does the sales coordinator want the field to ask for something more specific?
7. I agree to be contacted about my enquiry, Validation
Facts: the validation message was shown 25 times to the 350 who reached the field (7.1%, under the 15% flag), and it reads "Required", which is generic and does not say what to do. The field is required by consent requirement DR1; the review keeps it and does not judge its wording. The rule on the form is "Must be ticked".
Proposed label: no change proposed; the wording is held by the data owner.
Proposed error message: "This box must be ticked." The rule restated; it needs the data owner's approval.
Test question: none.
Question for the conversion lead and the client data owner: does the data owner approve the message? The options for the field itself do not arise: it is held as required because of DR1.
Fields with no finding: Full name, Company, How did you hear about us.
Held as required: Company (DR3), Annual budget (DR2), I agree to be contacted about my enquiry (DR1). None is proposed for removal or made optional.
Not assessed: nothing. Every field in the form definition appears in the export, and every field has at least 100 who reached it.
Every figure traces to the form definition, the completion export for 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-31, the field-use notes, the follow-up stages and the data requirements supplied. The review changes no form and sends nothing; the conversion lead and the client data owner approve any change, and developers implement it after review.
Where it fits
- Design and user experience, where a form is judged by whether a stranger can complete it.
- Advertising and lead generation, where paid traffic ends at a form and every field is paid for in people who leave.
- Analytics and reporting, which needs to know what each field feeds after submission.
- Marketing and advertising, the agencies whose clients question the forms they have been given.
- Professional services, where an inquiry form is often the first thing a prospective client meets.
- Software technology, where demo and contact forms ask for more as sales processes grow.
- Growth & scaling, when a form has gained a field for every team that wanted one.
It is not a review of how a website is found (website findability audit), and it is not a plan for what to track (tracking event plan).
What has to change for your company
- Your export. Use the column names your form tool gives you, or rename them once to the defaults. When a header does not match, the assistant stops and asks.
- Your flag levels. The defaults flag a field when a tenth of those who reach it leave there, or when a validation message is shown there 15 times for every hundred who reach it. Set the levels your team can act on.
- Your follow-up steps. Write the steps as your sales or service team really runs them, and say by which step the form must have supplied its data.
- Your owners. Decide who holds the data requirements, who approves a field change and who may ask developers to make it.
- Your platform. It is written for ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini and works from files you supply. Decide which exports the assistant may read.
What has been checked
Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried once on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026; that run was not blind to the published output, and a blind run is still to do. The record is published with it. It has not yet been tested in a client environment, or as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
Testing in your environment means running it on a form your team already knows well, with cases written in advance: a required field nobody can explain, a field whose choices do not match the quote bands, a field with too few visitors to read, a consent field. Your analytics lead checks every figure against the export before anyone relies on it. Pilot acceptance-test preparation sets those cases up, and what we test before we call an AI workflow ready describes the record we keep.
The full capability template
Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.
Free with an account. Sign in by email: no password and no card.
Next step
Put this capability to work for your team: on your plan, or built with you in a sprint.
Build this in a sprint
In a sprint, Fully Powered adapts this capability template to your rules, proves it on your own work and puts it in the hands of the roles that own it.
Two ways to begin: