Before publishing a form on the Internet or a company intranet, a systems analyst should protect it so users can change the layout or design but cannot fill it in.

The assertion is that before publishing a form on the Internet or a company intranet, a systems analyst should protect it so users can change the layout or design but cannot fill it in. The correct approach is to provide access to the form in a way that allows users to fill it in while preserving the integrity of its structure. Therefore, it is not ideal to allow modifications to the layout or design as it could lead to inconsistencies and errors in data collection.

When forms are published, the standard practice is to protect their integrity by not allowing users to change the layout or design. This ensures that all users are filling out the same version of the form, which is crucial for data accuracy and consistency. Additionally, protecting the form from unwanted modifications maintains the designer's original intent and ensures the usability of the form.

The belief that form layout or design should be altered by end-users contradicts best practices in form design, which emphasize the importance of maintaining a consistent user interface for effective data entry and analysis. Therefore, users may need to fill out the form, but they shouldn't have the ability to change the underlying structure that affects how information is recorded and analyzed. This highlights the incorrectness of the statement presented.