Sandbox release disclaimer: Some content in this article outlines how to use functionalities that will be publicly released to all clients at the end of October 2026. If you see differences between this article and your platform, check back at that time. Learn more about the release cycle.
Introduction
Surveys are a type of observation checklist that you can use to collect feedback, opinions, and various parts of information from learners. You can create surveys with different types of questions, make them available to learners, and review the responses to better understand their needs and experiences.
This article explains how to create, configure, schedule, and complete surveys.
Creating a survey
To create surveys, open the Content and delivery menu, select Observation checklists, and click New checklist in the top-right corner of the page.
In the Create checklist right panel, select Survey and enter the name of the survey. Optionally, add a code and a description. Click Create and edit.
You can duplicate or delete a survey from the ellipsis menu in its row. When you duplicate a survey, the new survey includes the same questions, question groups, and configuration as the original.
The duplicated checklist does not include any schedules, so the Schedules column on the Observation checklists page is empty.
Deleting a survey permanently removes it from the list and it cannot be recovered
Configuring a survey
On the survey configuration page, set the survey properties, add and manage questions, see the courses associated with the survey, schedule the survey, and preview the survey as respondents will see it.
Properties
Edit the survey's name, description, and code.
Questions
Use the Questions tab to add questions and organize them into groups. Groups help you organize questions by theme, subject, or time.
You must create a group of questions before you add questions to the survey.
Adding a group of questions
- Select Create group.
- Enter a name and, optionally, a description.
- If needed, select the option to hide the group name from respondents.
- Select Create.
Repeat as needed to build your survey.
You can edit, duplicate, or delete a group from its ellipsis menu. Deleting a group also deletes all questions in that group.
Note: Group names are not displayed in the mobile app, regardless of the group settings.
Adding questions
After creating a group, select the Add question icon and choose a response type
- Short answer: Enter the question. Respondents must enter a short free-text response.
- Paragraph: Enter the question. Respondents must enter a longer free-text response.
- Single choice: Enter the question, then add the available answer options. Respondents must select one option.
- Multiple choice: Enter the question, then add the available answer options. Respondents must select one or more options.
- Dropdown: Enter the question, then add the available options. Respondents must select one value from the dropdown list.
- Date picker: Enter the question. Respondents must select a date using the date picker.
- Time picker: Enter the question. Respondents must select a time using the time picker.
- Scale: Enter the question. Respondents must rate the 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. Note: Scale questions are not supported on mobile devices. If a checklist includes a scale question, users accessing it from a mobile device cannot submit the checklist.
Use the ellipsis menu at the right of the question’s row to duplicate or delete it.
To reorder groups or questions, hover over the left side until the drag icon appears, then drag and drop the item.
Notes:
- If you edit a survey after its start date, a new version is automatically created.
- A survey must contain at least one question before you can schedule it.
- All survey questions are mandatory. Respondents must answer all questions before they can submit the survey.
Preview
The Preview tab shows the survey as respondents will see it. You can also complete the survey in preview mode to experience it from the respondent's perspective.
Changes saved in the Properties and Questions tabs are reflected in the preview.
Courses
You can make a survey available to learners in two ways:
- Schedule it from the Schedule tab.
- Add it to a course as training material.
When added to a course, the survey appears as course content and respondents can access it from the course.
The Courses tab lists the courses where the survey has been added as training material, including the course name, association date, and completion mode.
To add a survey to a course:
- Open the course configuration page.
- Go to the Training material tab.
- Select Add training material and choose Observation checklist.
- In the right panel, select the survey.
- Select the confidentiality mode: confidential or nominative.
- Select Import.
Associating a survey to a course or removing the association can only be done from the course configuration page. It cannot be done from the survey configuration page. You cannot add a survey to multiple courses at the same time.
Scheduling a survey
On any tab, select Schedule survey in the top-right corner.
Select the respondents:
- single users
- users associated with a branch
- users assigned to a group
Choose the survey's confidentiality mode:
Confidential: Respondents cannot be identified from their answers
Nominative: Respondents can be identified from their answers
Choose when the survey is available:
- Anytime: The survey remains available after completion and can be completed multiple times.
- Schedule a time frame: Enter a start and end date.
- Based on course completion: Select the course that determines when the survey becomes available.
The schedule is saved and the survey becomes available to the selected audience according to the selected time frame.
Notes on confidentiality
You can configure confidentiality for each survey schedule. This means that the same survey can be used in different schedules with different confidentiality settings.
The confidentiality setting cannot be changed after the schedule has been activated and responses have been collected. Make sure you select the appropriate setting before activating the schedule.
Notes on Power Users
Power Users with Manage checklists permissions can create, configure, and schedule surveys for users, groups, and branches that are assigned to them as resources. You can assign checklists to Power Users as resources, either all checklists or a custom selection. Assigned checklists appear alongside the ones they created.
Completing an assigned survey as a respondent
- Open My checklists
- Go to the My surveys tab.
- Select a survey with the status To do or In progress.
- Answer the questions.
- Select the submit option.
Survey statuses are:
- To do: The survey has not been started.
- In progress: The survey has been started but not submitted.
- Completed: The survey has been submitted.
Respondents can continue a survey that is in progress. After submission, a completed survey is read-only.
Survey language in the Localization tool
Read the article Creating observation checklists for more information.
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 New survey to complete notification.
Analyzing the survey data
You can view and analyze the observation checklists data using two tools:
- The observation checklist dashboard: Access the Reports page from the Navigation menu > Data and analytics (chart icon) and go to the Quick summary reports and dashboards tab. More information on the Observation checklists dashboard.
- The observation checklist Insights dashboard: Access the Insights page from the Navigation menu > Data and analytics (chart icon) and go to the Featured dashboards section. More information on the Insights ready-to-use dashboards.