What is validation at the point of entry?
Validation at the point of entry is the checking of an entry while the applicant is still in the form and able to correct it. The alternative is discovering the same error in review, which costs a deficiency notice and a second reading after the applicant has waited. The value of the check lies in its timing rather than in its sophistication.
Also called: Point-of-entry validation, Inline validation
Why the same check is cheap at entry and expensive at review
The identical rule applied at two different moments produces two different economics. Checked at entry, a missing registration number costs the applicant a few seconds while the document is in front of them. Checked at review, the same omission costs a deficiency notice and a second reading, with the applicant waiting between them. Organisations postpone validation because the rules belong to the reviewing function while the form belongs elsewhere, which is an organisational problem presented as a technical one.
- A correction made while the applicant is present costs a fraction of a returned file.
- Entry validation converts a review deficiency into a field level prompt.
- Rules enforced at entry are visible to the applicant and therefore contestable.
- Validation at entry reduces the volume of work reaching the reviewer queue.
How validation at the point of entry works
- Review deficiency reasons are collected and translated into checkable rules.
- Each rule is attached to the field or the stage where it can be answered.
- Format and arithmetic checks are applied as the entry is made.
- Reference checks against held data are applied before the stage closes.
- Cross-field checks are applied at stage boundaries rather than on every keystroke.
- A failed check names the correction required rather than quoting the rule.
How validation at the point of entry is evaluated
Entry validation is assessed by what stops reaching the reviewer, and by what it does to the applicant along the way. Examine the following per form version:
- share of former deficiency reasons now checkable at entry
- rework rate before and after each rule was introduced
- abandonment at fields carrying a blocking validation rule
- false rejection rate on legitimate entries
- time spent resolving a failed check at the field
Limitations, risks and common failure modes
- Rules written from the regulation reject entries the regulation actually permits.
- A blocking rule with no explanation drives abandonment at that field.
- Validation applied per keystroke fires before the applicant has finished typing.
- Entry rules and review rules diverge once either side is amended.