Setting Up Iterations for Individual Feedback Reporting

Iterations give you the ability to report change over time.  It leverages Brilliant Assessments' flexible Cohort functionality which provides many different scenarios where multiple responses are reported together.  

To simplify the setup process, this article takes you through step by step, focused on Iterations on Individual Feedback reporting only.

Step 1: Site Settings

To activate the cohort functionality, you must select the Cohort checkbox in the settings menu. (Read more about Settings)

Step 2. Assessment Cohort Settings

From the Assessment Settings, go to Cohorts. Use these settings for Iterations on Individual Feedback reporting.

1. Cohort Type - Select Single Respondent.  It is also valid to select Group if you have a "Group of one".  This is where a single response is created for (say) a company.  This will set the Subject to a single field, whereas s Single Respondent Subject uses the First and Last Name. (The subject is the name of the cohort - and for Iterations for Individual Feedback reporting is set by the system to be the same as the respondent's name)
2. Cohort Report Recipient - Select Not Applicable.
3. Default Days to Completion - Leave Blank
4. Default Minimum Responses - Leave Blank
5. Enable Iterative Feedback - Select this Option
6. External Cohort Initiation - Do not select this Option

Step 3: Add a Cohort Role

Head to Cohort roles to set up the roles for your cohort.

*A cohort requires at least one role to be set up.*

A Cohort Role is required for Cohorts to work.  Often this is called Respondent, but it can be anything. 

Press 'Add role' to add a role.

1. Role: Can be anything.
2. Customer Type:  Leave as default (regardless if you are using Customer Types)
3. Minimum Number of Respondents: Leave blank.
4. Is Subject: Select this Checkbox.  

Step 4: Cohort Iterations

Iterations can work two different ways when used in conjunction with Individuals where Iterative Feedback is enabled:

• If you initiate a response (by Adding a response, response list upload, the respondent following a sharable link, or using the API), the system will automatically connect it to an initiation.
• The system can automatically initiate a reassessment at a point or multiple points in the future. These points are specified as the number of days from the previous initiation or the previous completion date.  You can set up as many iterations as you require, including recurring iterations which will keep repeating.

To set up iterations, head to Assessment Settings > Cohort tab > Cohort Iterations. You need to set up an iteration every time you want an iteration to generate. 

1. Press 'Add Cohort Iteration' to add your first iteration.

1. Iteration Name is the internal name for the iteration type. Often just called First and Subsequent or Before and After.
2. Iteration Label is the reporting name for the iteration, used in charts that show the results by Iteration.  For Before and After Iterations you may literally have Before and After.  It can include a date by including date parameters in the text denoted by curly brackets.  For example, "Recertification {MMM yy}" would be labeled "Recertification Dec 22" in the reporting where the report is split by Iteration.  The date is based on the completion date for the Iteration. The available parameters are:
   • d = day of the month as a number 1 to 31
   • dd = day of the month as a number with a leading zero 01 to 31
   • ddd = the abbreviated name of the day (Mon, Tues, Wed etc)
   • dddd =the full name of the day (Monday, Tuesday etc)
   • M = month as a number 1 to 12
   • MM = month as a number with a leading zero 01 to 12
   • MMM = the abbreviated name of the Month (Jan, Feb, Mar etc)
   • MMMM =the full name of the month (January, February etc)
   • yy = year as a number with a leading zero 01 to 99 (e.g. 21)
   • yyyy = year as a number (e.g. 2021)
   • IterationNumber = the sequence number of this iteration.  This is independent of the Iteration Order - which may be "repeating".
3. Iteration Order specifies the order of the iterations. The first one is number 1, The second is number 2, or if the Iteration is recurring (for example you want a reassessment every 6 months) you can select Repeating as an option.
4. Days from Previous Iteration. This field should be left blank on the first iteration and if you don't want the system to automatically generate subsequent iterations.  If automatic invitations are desired, this field specifies the number of days after Previous Iteration Creation Date or Completion (depending on the Date Rule selection) that the new Initiation will be automatically created (and related emails sent).
5. Date Rule: Options are Previous Iteration Creation Date or Completion date.
6. Respondent Generation Option: Leave blank on the first Iteration, and if you don't want the system to automatically generate subsequent iterations. If automatic invitations are desired, on subsequent Iterations usually "Respondents Copied and Invited" is used. The options are:
   • New Initiation - The Contact or Subject is sent an email (using a cohort Initiation email type) inviting them to specify the respondents again from scratch and send the invitations.
   • Respondents Copied - The Contact or Subject is sent an email (using a cohort Initiation email type) with a link to an initiation where the respondents have been copied from the last Iteration. The contact/subject can add and delete respondents and then send the invitations.
   • Respondents copied and Invited - The respondents invited to respond in the last Iteration will automatically be invited again, i.e., responses automatically created. Response Welcome emails will be sent.  These can be specifically worded for the Iteration
   • Previous Responses Copied for Updating - A copy of each previous response will be made (except the completion date and Status will be null) so that the respondents can just update their previous answers. Response Welcome emails will be sent.  These can be specifically worded for the Iteration.
7. Default Days to Completion - can be left blank.
8. Cohort Report - Leave Blank.

Step 5: Set up your Feedback Reports with Iterations 

• Feedback Reports are set up as normal, as specified in Assessment Reports with the exception that you will normally have a report for your First Iteration, and one for Subsequent Iterations - that shows data from previous iterations as well as the current one.
• To facilitate this, when Enable Iterative Feedback is selected on the Assessment Settings, an Addition Iteration Selector is available on the Assessment Reports form. The Iterations listed are the Iterations Names specified on the Assessment Iterations.
• The system will use the correct report based on this setting.

Tips: Feedback reports with Iterations

It is important to understand that all of the merge strings have the data from all of the iterations available.  This means that you will likely add the parameter Iteration=Last to many of your merge strings.

1. For specifying that you only want data for a particular Iteration (for example the most recent or last iteration) select "Filter by Iteration" on the Options menu and then select from the First, Last, or Previous (2nd to Last Iteration).  

   

2. In charts you show the scores for Iterations by selecting "Set the Cohort Splits" on the Select Options menu and then select 'Group by Iteration'.  

   

Step 6: Set up your Email Templates

• For Iteration 1:  For the first email, which will be the email for 'Iteration 1', you will need to have the usual Welcome email type set up with the ResponseLink merge string.
• For follow up iterations:  Only if you want the system to automatically generate repeat iterations, do you need a different email template.  In this case use the email type of Welcome Cohort Recipient and ensure it has the CohortLink merge string.

Read more about the email types available here