Setting Up Assessment Iterations

Prerequisites (quick check)

Before adding iterations, confirm the cohort basics are already working:

• The assessment is configured as a Group or 360 cohort.
• At least one Cohort Role exists, and roles behave as expected.
• You can create a cohort initiation and invite respondents successfully.

If any of the above is not set up yet, start here: Cohorts overview and setup.

Step 1: Add a cohort iteration

1. Go to Assessment Settings > Cohorts tab > Cohort Iterations.
2. Click Add Cohort Iteration.
3. Complete the key fields:
   • Iteration Name: internal label (example: First, Subsequent, Annual Review).
   • Iteration Label: appears in reporting (example: Annual Review {MMM yy} or Iteration {IterationNumber}).
   • Iteration Order: sequence of iterations
   • Cohort Report: select the cohort report template to generate for this iteration (optional).

The video guides you through adding a cohort iteration. For more details on Cohort Iteration screen, see Assessment Settings > Cohort Tab > Iteration.

Step 2: Automate follow-up iterations

If you want the system to create and send the next iteration automatically (for example, every 180 days), configure these fields on the subsequent iteration record:

• Days From Previous Iteration: number of days until the next iteration is created.
• Date Rule: whether the countdown starts from the prior creation date or completion date.
• Respondent Generation Option: how respondents are handled for the new iteration.
• Default Days to Completion: sets the completion date for the iteration (drives reminder timing and automation).

Recommended defaults for common scenarios:

• Repeat with the same respondent list: Use Respondents Copied and Invited.
• Let the contact review the list first: Use Respondents Copied.
• Allow respondents to update previous answers: Use Previous Responses Copied for Updating.

Step 3: Initiate an iteration manually

Refer to this article for Initiating Subsequent Iterations Manually.

Step 4: Emails for iterations

Iterations only send emails if the relevant email templates exist.

• Re-inviting respondents: ensure a Welcome email template exists for responses.
• Contact-managed respondent setup: ensure a Cohort Initiation email template exists (used when the contact/subject needs to add or confirm respondents).
• If you want iteration-specific wording, create a separate template version for iteration invites.

Email template types are documented here: Email Templates.

Step 5: Reporting and templates

• Cohort reports can be generated per iteration. You can keep the same template across iterations, or use a different report template for the first iteration (when no prior data exists).
• A cohort report for a cohort iteration will automatically bring in the average for all responses unless you include the merge string filter for iteration. These are Iteration=First, Iteration=Last, Iteration=Previous. The iteration filter can be accessed from the advanced menu in the merge manager.
  

For detailed report building options, see: Cohort Report Building.