Design an enquiry workflow that works.
Beginner · 4 lessons · 90 minutes · Free
Certificate of Achievement after assessed practical work
What you will be able to do
- Choose the minimum useful information to capture from an enquiry.
- Define statuses and next actions that make ownership clear.
- Separate stored information, connected-service actions and human decisions.
- Specify one safe automation with success, failure, retry and duplicate handling.
- Write a build and test brief for a focused enquiry tracker.
What this gives you for work
- A practical enquiry workflow map and build brief for a real or portfolio business.
- Evidence that you can separate human decisions from safe, repeatable automation.
- An interview-ready example covering ownership, privacy, failure handling and process improvement.
- A verifiable SHE//BUILDS achievement credential for your CV or LinkedIn profile.
Design a useful enquiry form.
What an enquiry form is really for
An enquiry form is not a questionnaire about everything you may ever need to know. Its first job is simpler: collect enough information for you to understand the request, decide the next step and reply to the right person.
A field earns its place when the answer changes what you do next.
For example, a dog walker may need a postcode because she only works in certain areas. A wedding photographer may need the event date because availability comes before pricing. A designer probably does not need a customer’s full postal address before she has even decided whether the project is suitable.
Required, optional or later?
Use three buckets:
- Required now: without it, you cannot make the first useful reply.
- Helpful but optional: it adds context but should not stop somebody submitting.
- Ask later: sensitive or detailed information needed only after the enquiry moves forward.
Email is usually required when that is how you reply. A phone number should not be compulsory unless calling is genuinely part of the next step. Budget can be a range rather than an exact figure. Avoid collecting passwords, payment details or private documents in an initial form.
Worked example: wedding photographer
A useful first form might ask for:
- Name — required: so the reply feels personal.
- Email — required: so the photographer can reply.
- Wedding date — required: to check availability.
- Venue or area — optional: to estimate travel.
- Type of coverage — required: to prepare the right information.
- Short message — optional: to capture anything unusual.
A poor version asks for twenty fields, makes a phone number compulsory without explanation and requests an exact timetable before the couple knows whether the photographer is free.
Write a confirmation that reduces uncertainty
A useful confirmation answers three questions:
- Did the submission work?
- When should the person expect a reply?
- What should they do if the request is urgent?
Example
Thanks, Maya — your photography enquiry has been received. I normally reply within two working days. If your wedding is within the next fourteen days, email hello@example.com and include “urgent booking” in the subject line.
Only promise a response time you can usually meet. “As soon as possible” sounds friendly but gives the customer no useful expectation.
Your task
Use the workflow lab below to choose the minimum useful fields for your own business. For every field, finish this sentence: “I need this now because it changes…”
Write a confirmation message with a realistic reply time. Remove any field whose answer will not affect your first reply.
Before you move on
You should have a short form plan, a clear reason for every required field and a confirmation message you could genuinely use.
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Course assessment
Complete every lesson, answer all 8 questions and score at least 80% to receive your Certificate of Achievement.
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