9.0

The r9 release is the most significant update we've had in years!

The platform interface has been completely redesigned to modernize the UX/UI of our software, making workflows more streamlined and intuitive. To do this, the Dev teams undertook massive upgrades to the front-end and back-end codebase of our platform. These critical technical improvements will set us up for major advancements for years to come.

Read on for a birds-eye view of the largest changes.

Platform redesign

Survey Dashboard/Survey Navigator

In previous versions of the software, we had two separate survey browse pages, the System Dashboard and Survey Navigator. We've combined these to have a single landing space: Survey Navigator. This page combines the survey tiles from the System Dashboard with the functionality of the Survey Navigator. Favorite surveys (pinned) are shown along the top of the page with a tile, while other active surveys are viewable below. Stay tuned for further migration of additional key Survey Navigator functionality in future releases. See gif above for demonstration of survey navigator.

Leaning into the survey lifecycle

Nearly all surveys follow a similar lifecycle: building, refining, and testing; data collection and fielding; data analysis; lastly, survey shut down. We've decided to build this journey more deeply into the platform, and you'll find the Survey Navigation menu has been re-structured to follow this lifecycle. Our survey stages have been renamed to map to this journey, as well. Additionally, depending on the stage the survey is in, the survey will open to a specific landing page to get you to the tasks that matter, faster.

Core platform changes

With the goal of a streamlined UI and improved lightweight tech, we've made some widespread platform changes that will move some of our previous functionality away from our software and put it in the hands of the internet browser.

• Tabs and Workspaces: To align with modern software standards, we've shifted to a single-tab application. Browser tabs will enable users to open multiple applets at the same time. Workspaces and in-app tabs are not included in r9.
• Version Switching: r9 is incompatible with r8; these two releases will never live on the same server. Therefore, the concept of switching between different releases on the same server has been removed.

Additional updated navigation

The left-hand navigation (navi) menus have been de-cluttered by introducing another layer of navigating similar-in-functionality applets, the tabbed navigation bar. See gif above for demonstration of new left-hand navigation.

• Assets - Sheets and Files live under the Asset left-navi item.
• Fielding Overview - Contains Fielding Metrics (previously what was the Survey Dashboard) and Summary.
• Audiences - Panel, Email Batches, Contact Lists have been moved here. There are two new applets introduced here: IS Managed Sample (intended to send sample requests directly to IntelliSurvey Project Consultants) and Messages (email message creation has been broken out of Batches and can be created/saved independently of the email batch. Batches now serve as a link between matching a contact list to a message and defining send parameters).
• Survey Performance - Base Counts Report and Page Report live under the Survey Performance banner. These reports generally serve to gauge the health of the survey while fielding, which is why they've been moved away from other report types. They may continue to be saved as a report and found in Deliverables.
• Data Management - Applets pertaining to managing data (changing status, expunging records, marking as tests, updating other survey fields, deleting responses, adding data) can all be found here.
• Reports - Deliverables, Frequency, Response, and Crosstab reports live here.

Survey roles

We have made significant changes to streamline Survey Roles, including reducing the number of “primary roles” in favor of more “secondary roles,” also referred to as add-on roles.

Roles are mapped to research operation personas.

The primary roles include:

• Makers (survey managers)
• Researchers (users associated with design of survey, e.g., clients)
• Fielders (panel partners)
• Observers (folks on the researcher side that might not need full-functionality)
• Limited (reports-only personas).

Add-on roles may be layered to grant additional functionality, such as IntelliBuilder editing, quota managing, translating surveys, and more.

Testmode refactor

The Testmode interface has a new facelift, as well as a slightly wider purpose: to serve as a landing for all test-related functionality. Changes include:

• New functionality of displaying QR codes for ease in mobile testing.
• Ability for testers to log feedback directly in Testmode.
• Selection of testing draft or published versions of the survey made in Testmode.
• Ease in removing termination points from a test record.

Still to come

The revamp of both front-end and back-end technology is mainly complete, however not all items have been finished. The next iterations of our software will continue to see migration of the items that we've missed, including:

• Data visualization: Topline was not included in r9.0. A re-imagined data visualization feature is aimed to be implemented in the future.
• Expanded Quota and Deliverables functionality.
• Advancements data cleaning and CheatSweep, including migration of history logs.
• Approve/Reject Records.

New features

Seamless survey building collaboration

Users can program a survey alongside each other simultaneously with the new collaboration features. A user can be programming in SPL while other users are making changes in IntelliBuilder at the same time! Additionally, multiple users can be working to program the survey in SPL together, seeing in real-time the changes that are being made. The SPL sessions are now saved with every keystroke, ensuring against lost effort.

Additional featured changes

• Contact Lists now support deleting individual records from within the interface itself.
• Contact Lists are prohibited from using batch_names as a custom field.
• Crosstabs now truncate problematic sheet names, allowing for better stability and Excel compatibility.
• Translation overlay has been cleaned up from erroneous ranking items, with "Rank 1", "Rank 2" resources only displaying if ranking items are in a pulldown presentation.
• Translations now properly support greater than 10 placeholders in a single translated resource.

SPL changes

We've streamlined how to call in survey timers. The tag timers: y or create timers: y replaces all previous usages, with named timer supported for specific named timers on groups or widgets.

Survey questions often use validations to ensure respondent answers fall within an acceptable range of answering. Our software supports both single-line and multi-line ways to invoke these, however in previous versions, they had similar–yet different–ways to call in, occasionally creating confusion. 9.0 streamlines this, by allowing validate and validation to be used interchangeably. Note in the example below the multi-line invocation contains the condition and message suffix.

2. How many cat(s) do you have?
type: numeric
validate: $Q2 <= $Q1 {message: You've previously mentioned you own $Q1 pets. Ensure the number entered is less than or equal to the total number of pets owned.

3. How many dog(s) do you have?
type: numeric

validation condition: $Q3 <= $Q1
validation message: You've previously mentioned you own $Q1 pets. Ensure the number entered is less than or equal to the number of pets owned.

MaxDiff now supports the track selector: y tag to allow for easy track selection when a user is testing a survey. This only appears when the record contains a testmode value; no code changes necessary before launching a survey.

The term widget now supports goto for surveys needing respondents to head towards different locations based on a survey answer. Example:

setterm: S7
condition: anyChecked($QS7,1..3)
text: QS7 - Sensitive industry
goto: INCENTIVE {if anyChecked($QPANEL,99)}
goto: term {if noneChecked($QPANEL,99)}

Additional SPL changes include:

• When using type: uszip5 widgets, users may disable any of the auto-built derived variables now by utilizing the exclude derived tag; e.g., exclude derived: cbsa,msa,usr.
• Surveys now default to anchor exclusive: y and anchor autoother: y.
• Questions can utilize mode: vertical to present options in a single, vertical column.
• Both set text and conditioned text are able to be used within table options.
• Quotas with trackqual: y now have the trackqual variable appear before the quota in the dataset for ease in reading.