Do you need Nintex forms or MS Infopath?

With emerging web technologies targeting rich user experience and to provide a boost to SharePoint we have Nintex forms (With logic do more, Write less). It is indeed a good product that provides quick, easy and rich user experience for business process implementation.

I have been working on Nintex forms for a while and its quite powerful. Some of its capabilities are:

• Quickly create and deploy forms with no custom code
• In lines with web development trend, Allows to inject JS and CSS
• Provides rich set of controls
• Provides layout for other devices e.g. Mobiles, Tablet
• Supported in majority of the browsers
• No client software installation required, Design and deploy through web browser

While both MS Infopath and Nintex form have similar capabilities, the Nintex form provides an additional native support to javascript/jQuery and css. This additional capabilities could be leveraged to create a simple form or even a complex games.

Both Nintex forms and MS Infopath provide us with an option of creating quick visual forms with some rules (formatting or validation) and css. However both lack in providing feature to improve the maintainability of the form. 

The MS Infopath and Nintex forms both lack in terms of debugging technique or providing a clear picture or understanding of the form controls and its relation with other form controls for e.g. a control's visibility can be managed using rules or expression which is very easy to implement however over a period of time or with changes in ownership it becomes difficult to keep a track of all the little rules.

A complex form created with Nintex or MS Infopath may take considerable amount of time to understand the implemented rules, embedded hidden controls and relation between various controls.In my opinion the forms can be used for implementing those business process which does not have high demand and does not change very often.

So what should be the strategy of an enterprise? Should they be using any of the forms product in their environment to implement business process.

I think at an enterprise level Nintex forms or MS Infopath can be used by evaluating the complexity of business process, complexity of the form and maintainability of the form. In certain scenarios its even better to create an html based application using jQuery/Angular js or any other plugin as these applications can be easily troubleshooted and remediation or enhancement might be quicker as compared to forms created using Nintex or Infopath.

Summarizing my experience

• Infopath or Nintex forms can be used if a form is simple and does not have a more than 10 to 15 rules and Business process is not complex
• Custom form using jQuery/Angular or any other if form is complex and requires a fluid UI.