UPDATE TO THIS POST: There will be no affect on data quality because if you try to edit a field and there are other required fields on the object that are blank, the system will require those fields before you can save the record. Looks like once again, Salesforce.com thought of everything…and I need to do a little more homework before I post.
So, you have probably seen the Winter ‘08 release of one of the most requested features on the IdeaExchange – Inline Editing. This allows users to to edit individual fields without clicking the Edit button just by double-clicking on that field. It is a great and easy way to update your records.
My question – How will it affect data quality?
Data quality is an integral part of any successful CRM. New information needs to be gathered in order to be successful with changing business trends. A great way to gather that information is to require it when a record is created or edited. Using reports and dashboards, you can track if the information is being gathered.
With Inline Editing, users can update their records without editing the record as a whole. This removes the ability to require fields when updating records. For example, if the Account Type becomes a necessary and required field, it would be very difficult to make our users update that field if Inline Editing is enabled. Without Inline Editing, that field could be updated any time a user is editing other information in the Account.
So I am presented with a dilema…should I activate Inline Editing or not. We have some required fields that we are measuring inputs on. If I enable Inline Editing, I don’t know if they will ever be populated.
What do you all think?
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October 13, 2008 at 10:50 am
Zeelog
IMHO – inline edit is a great feature. Users can improve productivity because it reduces the need to flip through multiple screens. Ideally, the aim should be to change all fields to picklists so that the user’s keyboard entry is minimized.
User re-training is very obviously a must here and without that, the issue of data quality that you fear may happen. Even a brief 5 minute screenshot/screen video is enough to brief the end user and the time taken to do this is very little.
With Web 2.0, inline edit is not a big deal at all. What we should see and expect from SFDC are other field types – such as image selections for ratings, sliders to change values and other visual innovations.