IRQuest is a dedicated survey system in SurveyTester. A project set to IRQuest (or to Automatic) recognises an IRQuest survey the moment the browser extension opens it: every page with its questions, answer options, matrix rows and text fields. From there everything else in SurveyTester works as usual - Auto Answer, Auto Complete, SurveyBots, test cases, issues and the Pages & Routing overview.
What an IRQuest survey looks like to a tester
Every IRQuest page is a classic web page: the respondent answers, clicks Next and the server sends the next page. Questions are laid out in tables - a list of options for a single or multiple choice question, a matrix with one row per item, or a form table that mixes text fields and check boxes row by row. Every page carries the ID of its question, which SurveyTester uses to name the page.
Why this is hard to test without SurveyTester
- Matrices with many rows. A matrix of twenty items is tedious to fill again after every change. Auto Answer answers every row in one go.
- Exclusive options. "Don't know" or "No answer" must not be ticked together with other options. SurveyTester recognises exclusive options and ticks them alone.
- "Other" fields. Options with an "other, please specify" field need a text, or the page does not move on. SurveyTester fills the field together with the option.
- Repetition. Re-running a long questionnaire by hand for every quota or filter path is slow. SurveyBots go through it as often as you need.
Supported question types
| IRQuest question type | How SurveyTester records it |
|---|---|
| Single choice (radio buttons) | One option is chosen. |
| Multiple choice (check boxes), with exclusive options | Several options are ticked; an exclusive option is ticked alone. |
| Option with an "other, please specify" field | The option and its text field are recorded together. |
| Dropdown list | One entry of the list is chosen. |
| Open text | A fitting text is entered. |
| Number field | A number is entered. |
| Matrix (one answer per row) | Every row is answered with one scale point. |
| Matrix (several answers per row) | Every row gets one or more ticks. |
| Form table (a text field, check boxes or radio buttons per row) | Every row is recorded as a question of its own; "no answer" check boxes are treated as exclusive. |
| Text-only pages | Recorded as information pages with nothing to answer. |
Errors and end page
- Error messages. IRQuest's validation messages are not yet stored as separate page or question errors. When a page refuses to move on, you see the message in the screenshot of that step.
- End page. A page without a question ID - normally the thank-you page - is recorded as the last step of the run. Complete, screenout and quota outcomes are configured as for any other survey system, with survey end page identifiers on the project. See Survey end pages.
Step by step
- Create the project. Choose IRQuest as the survey system, or leave it at Automatic - the survey is recognised either way. Paste the survey link.
- Start a test run from the project with the SurveyTester browser extension, or let SurveyBots run the survey. The SurveyTester bar appears above it, and the first page is recorded as step 1.
- Answer the survey by hand, or press Auto Answer and Auto Next to let SurveyTester fill the page and move on. Each page creates the next step.
- Check the result on the Pages & Routing page: every page appears with its questions, every question with its answer options, rows and scale points.
Good to know
- Page names. Pages are named after the question ID IRQuest sends with every page, so the names stay the same across test runs.
- Custom layouts. Questions with their own HTML or JavaScript, or uncommon question types, may not be read or answered automatically yet. If you find a page that SurveyTester does not read correctly, please send it to us.