Aglet

Triage Product Survey Question Quality

A survey question is part of the measurement instrument, not just copy. Triage each item before fielding by identifying what it should learn, who will answer, and where wording could steer or confuse. Separate a question about behavior from one about opinion or future intent.

Establish what is happening

  1. Name the construct

    Write the behavior, experience, or outcome the question is meant to measure. Identify recall period, audience, and decision. Remove assumptions about the respondent's knowledge, frequency, or emotional state from the item.

  2. Inspect wording and scale

    Mark leading language, double-barreled requests, undefined terms, overlapping answers, missing not-applicable options, and recall demands. Review the scale for balance and for choices that force an answer the respondent cannot give.

  3. Bound the interpretation

    Record what each response can support and what it cannot. Identify pilot questions, excluded populations, and missing evidence. Keep a measurement concern separate from a product conclusion until the question has been tested.

What to carry forward

The triage output is a question register with construct, audience, wording risks, response scale, and interpretation boundary. Stop when every item has a decision and a possible answer. Keep questions provisional when a pilot has not tested how people read them.

Technical background: GOV.UK user research guidance.

Keep the decision with the work.

Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.

Create an account See the product workflow