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Managing observation checklists

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Introduction

Observation checklists are a simple, built-in, and quick-to-configure tool that allows you to observe and document how learners and team members perform their tasks.

This article explains how to configure an observation checklist when creating a new one or editing an existing one. For details on how to create a checklist, see the article Creating observation checklists.

To reach the configuration page, choose one of the following ways: 

  • Create a new checklist. You will be taken to the configuration page automatically after clicking Create and edit.
  • On the checklists management page, click the ellipsis menu at the end of the checklist’s row and select Edit. 

The configuration process includes five tabs: 

  • Properties 
  • Questions 
  • Preview
  • Schedules 
  • Courses

 

Configure the checklist as detailed in the following chapters. Remember to click Save changes after making updates on each tab to ensure they are reflected in your checklist preview.

Setting the checklist properties

Configure the general settings

Details section

Enter or update the code, name (required), and description of the observation checklist. 

Options section

Configure the following options:

  • Enable notes on each question: Observers can write a free-text comment alongside each answer.
  • Enable attachments on each question: Observers can attach a photo, file, or video to support each answer when they complete the checklist from the My checklists area. (One attachment per question). 
  • Enable final acceptance step: Observers must accept or reject the responses before they can close the checklist. The checklist is considered completed in either case. 
  • Enable answer feedback for observed users: Mark the correct option for single and multiple choice questions. Observed users can see if their answer was correct.
  • Share checklist with the observed users: Observed users can view the checklist in read-only mode in the My checklists menu.

Please note the following requirements for file and video upload: 

For files and photos:

  • Maximum file size  for every question: 40MB.
  • Allowed file types: BMP, CSV, DOC, DOCX, EPUB, GIF, ICO, JPEG, JPG, MP3, OGG, PDF, PNG, PPSX, PPT, PPTX, SRT, TXT, VTT, XLS, XLSX, ZIP

For videos:

  • Allowed video formats: MP4, MOV
  • Maximum video size for every question: 250 MB
  • Maximum video duration: 10 minutes 

Adding questions to an observation checklist

On the Questions tab of your checklist, you can add questions and groups of questions. Use groups to organize questions by theme, subject or time (before, during or after an activity for example). 

Adding a group of questions

To add a group of questions, click the New group of questions plus icon. In the right panel, enter the group name  and its description. The group name is required to create the group, but you can hide it from users by selecting Do not show the group name in the checklist. 

Please note! The group name never shows on the mobile app, regardless of the settings.

When finished, click Create to add the group of questions. Repeat this process as needed to build your checklist.

Once you have added a group of questions, you can click the ellipsis menu at the end of the group’s row to edit, duplicate or delete it. Deleting a group of questions will also delete the questions it contains.

Adding questions

Once a group is created, you can populate it with questions. Click the New question plus icon in the group area. Enter the question name (required) and select the response type.

 

Click the ellipsis menu at the right of the question’s row to duplicate or delete it.

To reorder groups and questions, hover over the far-left side until the drag icon appears, then drag and drop them.

Please note! If you edit checklist questions after the start date, a new version of the checklist is automatically created. For recurring checklists, users and managers will see the new version of the checklist the next time they complete it. On the Observation checklist page, only the latest version is displayed.

Response types

  • Short answer: Enter the question. During checklist completion, observers enter a short free-text response.
  • Paragraph: Enter the question. During checklist completion, observers enter a longer free-text response.
  • Single choice: Enter the question, then add the available answer options. During checklist completion, observers select one option.
  • Multiple choice: Enter the question, then add the available answer options. During checklist completion, observers can select one or more options.
  • Dropdown: Enter the question, then add the available options. During checklist completion, observers select one value from the dropdown list.
  • Date picker: Enter the question. During checklist completion, observers select a date using the date picker.
  • Time picker: Enter the question. During checklist completion, observers select a time using the time picker and, optionally set the time zone. 
  • Scale: Enter the question to allow observers to rate an question using a scale. The minimum value is fixed at 1. Select a maximum value (a positive whole number between 1 and 10) and configure labels for both endpoints. Your selection determines the scale points.

Viewing your observation checklist’s preview

The Preview tab displays the checklist exactly as it will appear to the user or manager completing it. If you want to experience the checklist from their perspective, you can complete it directly in the Preview tab. Any changes made and saved in the Properties and Questions tabs will be reflected in the preview.

 

Scheduling the checklist

Checklists that have already been scheduled will be listed on this page.

To schedule your checklist, follow the instructions in the article Scheduling observation checklists.

Viewing the checklist associations with courses

All the courses where the checklist has been imported as training material are listed in the Courses tab. 

The table displays

  • The name of the course associated to the checklist
  • The association date
  • The checklist observers
  • The checklist approver (if any)
  • The completion option set in the association process

By clicking the name of a course in the table, you will be redirected to the course page in the Course management.

Notifications

If you want your users and managers to immediately know when they have a checklist to be completed or approved, make sure that the Notifications app is active in your platform, and that you have correctly created and configured the following notifications:

For checklist completion:

  • New manager observation checklists to complete (sent if you selected the Other observers > Manager option in the second step of the checklist configuration).
  • New self observation checklists to complete (sent if you selected the Self observer option).
  • New peer observation checklists to complete (sent if you selected the Other observers > Custom user option).

For checklist approval:

  • New observation checklist to approve
  • Observation checklist approved
  • Observation checklist rejected

When you configure an observation checklist that should be completed or approved by a manager or by a user, the managers or the users involved will receive a notification informing them that they have to complete or approve a new observation checklist.

Please note! Users and managers will only receive notifications about their checklists if the Notification feature is active in the platform and if you have properly set up the notifications listed above.

Analyzing the observation checklist data

You can view and analyze the observation checklists data using two tools: