The Tandem Team builds apps now? Sort of…on Jotform.
Ok - here’s the deal:
The Tandem Board of Directors have just started piloting a teeny tiny version of Tandem Co-op this summer… it’s getting closer to being real!
We’ve been using this as a learning opportunity, to start to understand the necessary pieces of infrastructure and information that we need to gather, and to learn how each piece feeds into a system to notify and track information for our Caregiver(s), Parents/Guardians and prospective members.
We’ve been experimenting with Jotform’s new no-code app capabilities to build a simple tool for our parents/guardians to check in their kids, track their usage, contact caregivers, update information about the kids they have enrolled, and see the schedule. While it has been a small learning curve, the capabilities that Jotform has in their free software are enough to power an app that allows us to do all of that. Jotform is known for their form builder, which we have been using for tons of different applications including asynchronous focus group surveys, daily check-in sheets, child information collection, etc. I’ve always preferred Jotform over Google Forms or other software because they have really good conditional formatting, which allows you to make really complex forms SUPER simple for the user. I hate wasting time, and frankly I hate filling out forms, so the less information that I have to fill out, the better. Conditional formatting lets you filter the amount of redundant/unnecessary questions that the user has to interact with based on their answers to previous questions (and other factors, which we don’t need to get into).
So, what the heck is a no-code app? I didn’t really understand either. You know what an app is, yes? Well, when I consider an app, I don’t even attempt to think about how it was built because I assume it takes a ton of skills and time that I don’t have. It’s complex. And frankly, expensive. We don’t yet need the incredibly robust app options that are out there for coworking spaces, schools or daycares, and in an ideal world we wouldn’t be paying for features that we don’t need. That is where a no-code app comes into play. You get to create the exact features that you need, and you don’t need coding skills to do so. You need to understand the basic system that you are trying to create (IE what do your users need to be able to do), then, you need to figure out what information you need to store (a folder on a drive? A spreadsheet?), and where that information is coming from (forms that have to be filled out? A pre-existing spreadsheet database?). While it isn’t always free (you have to pay to increase your limits as you scale up, for sure), you are in complete control over the features that exist, and you can constantly update the app to serve your exact purposes.
The way that Jotform does this is by using basic, drag-and-drop building blocks that you connect to work for you. Jotform’s forms have always had the ability to integrate seamlessly with google sheets, which is a great backbone for a database. So, you can use building blocks like tables, forms, signatures, payments, reports, etc. paired with widgets that are ever-expanding to do things like sync with messenger or whats app. For example, our app allows caregivers to check quickly who is the responsible guardian on site for a specific child, select that child’s info card, and then click a “message” button for the appropriate guardian that opens their native sms (text) app with a pre-written message that the particular child needs support. Then, all they have to do is hit send. It’s super simple, and it has been really cool to build something SO useful SO quickly.
The applications for no-code apps are endless. They can run in the background as automation, be used internally for project management, support a collaborative asynchronous workforce, be used as a client portal, a lead generator, a database management system… seriously. It is so cool. Jotform is a good place to start if you want to play around and get the hang of how a more complex system might work. And, since it is free I really encourage you to play around with it!
—Anna
Director of Operations and Vision
