Feedback and Cohort Report Building - Overview

Click these links to access the documentation for the Legacy Feedback Report or the Legacy Cohort Report building.  The documentation below is for Release 2020 (implemented Nov 3, 2019).

Feedback and Cohort reports are built by merging a boilerplate Microsoft Word document with text and scores from the system. 

• Feedback reports are for a single response and are usually produced at the end of a respondent completing a response.  They can be available for immediate download and / or emailing to the respondent and others.  Feedback reports can include Benchmarking and Team data. 

(Read an overview of Feedback Reporting That article has a sample template Word document attached (scroll to the bottom to download it)).

• Cohort reports are for multiple responses in one report.  Cohort reports can also include Benchmarking Data.  Cohorts reports can be initiated automatically from Cohorts defined in the Cohort Initiations functionality.  They can also be initiated manually at any time using the Cohort Report Manager

The articles listed below provide the detail of the merge strings available to build the feedback or cohort report and assumes you have already read and understood the article above.

How Merge Strings are constructed 

1. There are around 35 separate Merge Strings in the system.  Merge strings specify the type of data that is to be merged into the document.  They always have curly {} brackets around them.
2. Parameters specify the data to be selected and options for how it is displayed Parameters are always surrounded by square [] brackets.  If there are no parameters required use the square brackets with no space []. 
3. Merge Strings and Parameters are case sensitive and there must be no spaces except between parameters within Square brackets e.g. {Bar[SectionNo=All Height=200]}
4. Where your merge string returns text into the report, the text will be shown in the style and format that the merge string is in.  If, for example, you wanted the score to be returned in red and bold, you would color and bold the merge string.  This can be overridden by the formatting within the merge string itself.

Tips for Creating a great Word Template for your reporting:

1. Wherever possible use the Styles feature of Word to set the format of text.   This ensures constancy.
2. Place images inside a Word table cell.  That way Word holds its position relative to the table.  As the table gets pushed down we when inset text above the image moves down correctly too.
3. Avoid text boxes for the same reason.  If they overlay an image ensure that the image is in a table cell.
4. The best format for images is .png.  Some compressed .jpg files have issues in the function we use to create PDF's.  

Merge Strings Available

Text

 Charts

Vertical Bar Charts		Vertical Bar Charts are normally used to show several sections/ subsections/ questions/ segmentations comparatively, although you can display a single bar if required.  Charts can be either based on percentage scores or the average actual score (Likert style reporting)
Multi Vertical Bar Charts		Multi Vertical Bar Charts are used: In feedback reports to show benchmark results alongside response results. In cohort reports to show comparative results within the cohort, optionally alongside benchmark results.
Horizontal Bar Charts		Horizontal Bar Charts have the same functionality as Vertical Bar Charts but have the advantage that they are not restricted to the width of the page.  There is also additional space for the section / subsection / segmentation / question name.
Multi Horizontal Bar Charts		Multi Horizontal Bar Charts have the same functionality as Multi Vertical Bar Charts but have the advantage that they are not restricted to the width of the page.  There is also additional space for the section / subsection / question / segmentation name.
Gauges (Donut Charts)		Gauges are most popular for showing assessment scores, alongside the rating which is represented by the color of the gauge. It can also be used for sections, subsections, questions or segmentations to graphically show the score and rating.
Progress Bars (Single Horizontal Bar)		Horizontal Or Progress bars are often used for an assessment, section, subsection, question or segmentation (as an alternative to Donut charts) to graphically show the rating rather than an exact score.
Spider Charts		Spider Charts are used to show several sections/ subsections/ questions / segmentations comparatively.  Charts can be either based on percentage scores or the average actual score (Likert style reporting).
Multi Spider Charts		Multi Spider Charts are used: In feedback reports to show benchmark results alongside response results. In cohort reports to show comparative results within the cohort, optionally alongside benchmark results.
Line Charts		Line Charts are used to show several sections/ subsections/ questions / segmentations comparatively.  Charts can be either based on percentage scores or the average actual score (Likert style reporting).
Multi-Line Charts		Multi-Line Charts are used: In feedback reports to show benchmark results alongside response results. In cohort reports to show comparative results within the cohort, optionally alongside benchmark results.
Area Charts		Multi-Line Charts are used: In feedback reports to show benchmark results alongside response results. In cohort reports to show comparative results within the cohort, optionally alongside benchmark results.
Pie Charts		Pie charts are used for comparing the score a respondent achieved for each section/subsection or segmentation.  This can be useful for displaying particular strengths or weaknesses.  You can also use Pie charts for cohorts, comparing the number of responses in each Rating.