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Many data processing problems may be avoided by the improved design of data collection instruments. Improved design, however, necessitates a thorough understanding of both the input requirements and the operating characteristics of the processing systems to be used. Normally it is not feasible for the person preparing the instrument to be totally familiar with the computer programming packages, and it is therefore essential that the instrument designer locate and communicate with the people who do have this knowledge. Depending on the diversity of processing required, this may entail identifying and contacting several distinct groups of people in the data processing department. When this communication fails to take place, design decisions are made on criteria which are thought to be arbitrary, but which actually have significant processing implications. Moreover, the resulting problems are not even anticipated by the data processing department which becomes aware of the problems only after the operational processing has begun. By this time, problems which would have been easy to correct or prepare for have become major obstacles in extracting the desired information. Major obstacles, though usually not insurmountable, do exact a high price not only in computer time, but also in stress-filled man-hours spent by the programmer and those frustrating delays experienced by the waiting analyst.