Q_Panel Release Notes v7.04

The main purpose of this release has been to integrate Q_Panel and Q_Survey more closely, and to improve the speed and efficiency of Q_Panel.

This article contains a summary of the changes:

Setting Manager

Setting Manager contains a new setting category named "Q_Survey Integration".  Within this category, the Security Token setting stores the API token for Q_Survey.  Users will not be able to select Q_Survey questionnaires within Q_Panel until the Security Token has been configured.

Sample Manager

Q_Survey Integration

A Q_Survey questionnaire can now be associated with a sample - a new field has been added to the Properties page of a sample project (and also to prototype/default prototype). A popup will show all active Q_Survey questionnaires and the questionnaire associated with the sample can be selected.

Two new merge variables have been added to the Sample Merge fields folder, allowing the URL for the Q_Survey questionnaire to be merged, along with the external panellist id and the survey id (these will automatically be added when the email is sent).  This will allow the panellist responses to be processed by the Data Import service.

The new merge fields are:

  • QSurveyQuestionnaireURL
  • QSurveyQuestionnaireURL-Encoded

Job Queue improvements

Improvements have been made:

  • a new Job Reference ID is stored for each sample and is displayed on the Properties tab (this ID will never change for a sample).
  • whenever a sample job is run report-only, with output or rolled back, a record will be logged in the database.  A new Code ID is generated each time - this replaces the Project ID.
  • the Sample report and Replicate report now display the ID and Code ID.
  • there is now a cap on the number of panellists selected for output - this defaults to 250,000 but can be configured as required.  Any sample job that tries to output more than this will fail.  The joblog will indicate the reason for failure.  To override this cap for a specific sample a metadata variable (DisableOutputCountCheck) can be added and set to yes or no as required.

Questionnaire Manager

A Q_Survey project and it's questionnaires can be selected for use as profilers on the Q_Community website.  Only projects with at least one questionnaire will be displayed.

Various options determine how the questionnaires will be displayed and used within Q_Community:

  • the order in which the questionnaires are to be displayed
  • the order in which the questionnaire are to be completed
  • the number of reward points to be applied when the questionnaire has been completed

Questionnaires will not be displayed until they are marked as published.

More than one Q_Survey project can be added to Questionnaire Manager, but only one project can be live on Q_Community.

Events are logged when panellists are presented with a profiler, when they start a profiler and when they complete or update a profiler.  Any reward points associated with the profiler will be awarder when the profiler is completed for the first time.

Data Import/MiPro plugin

The configuration of this has been streamlined, and a timeout has been added with a default value of 100.

This plugin will stop running if the Security Token (configured within Setting Manager) has not been set.

Q_Community web parts

New webparts have been added to display and run the Q_Survey profilers.  

The Unsubscribe web part now has the option to send an email to the administrator whenever a user unsubscribes from the Q_Community website.  The web part must be configured with the administrator email address.  The default email template includes the panellists name, email address, username, external id, panel id and date unsubscribed.

Note that the Q_Panel API service must be configured and running in order to use some of the functions within Q_Community - in particular, unsubscribe and running Q_Survey questionnaires.

Backfeed service

Improvement have been made to improve efficiency, in particular:

  • if an exception occurs while processing backfeed records, any records with error codes of zero or NULL will now be re-processed when the next backfeed job runs.
  • multiple backfeed records referencing a single contact history record will now be processed in the order they are received, with the backfeed rules being applied before each update.
  • Do Not Contact processing has been streamlined.

API

The API library for 7.04 has been expanded to improve integration between Q_Panel and third party systems.

The new API functions include:

  • Email Recipients – used to retrieve email recipients by Wave ID.
  • Mailing Waves – used to retrieve details of mailing waves for a specific sample.
  • Panellist Profilers – used to create or retrieve panellist profiler information by ID or by Version GUID.  The status can also be retrieved or updated by Id or Version GUID.
  • Panellist Variables – used to retrieve profile details about a panellist. This information can be retrieved by external id or panellist id.
  • Prototype Details – used to retrieve details of all prototypes or a specific prototype.  The metadata for a specific prototype can also be retrieved.
  • Sample Details – used to retrieve details of all samples within a specific prototype, or a specific sample.  The metadata for a specific sample can also be retrieved.
  • Reward Basket and Reward History - used to retrieve list of rewards claimed and/or redeemed by panellist id.
  • Reward Details - used to retrieve details of all active rewards, or for just a specific reward by reward id.
  • Event History - used for retrieve events history for a panellist by panellist id.
  • Backfeed - used to submit a backfeed URL using the API.
  • Reward Points Summary - used to retrieve the number of panellists and points awarded and claimed over time period.

For a full list of API functions available and documentation see:  http://docs.qpanelv704.apiary.io/

Other Improvements

  1. This version of Q_Panel uses updated .net and Telerik controls.
  2. A Save button has been added to Email Template Manager to make it easier to save changes to templates.
  3. The sample name is now included in the default mailing and wave names for samples. (This has also been added to later releases of 7.03).
  4. The length of the mailing and wave names have been increased to 250 characters. As a result, no truncation of default sample mailing or wave names will occur.
  5. The date and time when an email wave started processing, and when it completed processing is now displayed.
  6. A new standard merge field for External Panellist ID has been added to the Profile Merge Fields folder.
  7. Response IDs that have been uploaded for a sample mailing can now be deleted.  The delete button will only appear when there are no sent emails for the sample, therefore, Response IDs cannot be changed once an email has been sent.
  8. Metadata codes marked as 'removed' are no longer displayed when adding metadata to prototypes or samples.
  9. Activity filtering using sample metadata now works correctly. (This has also been added to later releases of 7.03).
  10. The Targets/Results screen within Sample Manager now updates the outcome code counts (if displayed) when Refresh is selected.
  11. Sample jobs which fail at the output stage can no longer be closed, and must be rolled back and re-run when the error has been rectified.
  12. Security permissions for mailing have been improved.
  13. Panel Manager no longer allows panellists to be updated with an email address already used by another panellist.
  14. The issue when filtering on a date in History Manager/Other Events has been resolved.
  15. When viewing profiler events in History Manager/Other Events, there are now separate categories for Q_Survey Profiler events and Q_Panel profiler events.
  16. The Mailing Queue Manager option has been removed from the Administration menu.  It was used for viewing completed emails or monitoring the progress of queued or running emails.  This functionality is already provided through the Email Queue Manager (in the Administration menu) and Mailing Manager (in the Panel Management menu).
  17. There have been improvements to the services to stop conflicts between the Data Import, Backfeed service and JobQueue.   (This has also been added to later releases of 7.03).
  18. The issue where a CrossTab report using a multicode variable which has a 'deleted' code as a row or column caused an error when executed has been fixed.
  19. A new Q_Community web part allows the panellist to change their username.
  20. More Q_Community events are now logged – when a referral is made and when a referred friend has joined.
  21. Kentico 10 is now supported.

Notes

  1. A separate installation of Q_Panel is now required for each panel database, the database can no longer be changed using User Settings.
  2. Separate installations of the Email Send service, the Runner service and the JobQueue are now required for each panel database.
  3. All API URLs now require to supply new security tokens for the panel database and the Q_Panel user.  All API URLs will need to be changed on upgrade.
  4. The Data filter properties of the MiPro – Profiler List web part (Order by, Select top N items, Where condition) are not supported (and may be removed at some point).
  5. The User Manager screen no longer shows whether the session is active or not, the function to clear a session has also been removed.
  6. The User Manager screen now shows the API token -  this is required for configuring API URLs.
  7. The Database Manager screen now shows the Panel Identifier - this is required for configuring API URLs.
  8. In this version of Questionnaire Manager, the IsActivationSurvey flag will have no effect.  It will be available in a future version.
  9. In this version of Questionnaire Manager, the Expected Interview Length is not currently used (although the value is available via an API url).
  10. In Hierarchy Manager, the 'Allowed in CrossTab increment' option is set by default for all types of variables.  This option should only be available for numeric variables. If a non-numeric variable is selected as an increment variable in CrossTab it will cause an error.
  11. In Hierarchy Manager, the 'Allow in Lookup Lists' option is set by default for all types of variables.  This option should only be available for text and numeric profiler variables.
  12. There is a known issue in CrossTab where if a syncColumnID is saved in the syncCode table for a multicode variable "header" record, then the count of the first code for this multicode variable will be doubled.  This scenario should not happen if the multicode variable is set up correctly, and will not happen when multicode variables are created through Q_Panel (e.g. Variable Manager or Data Import).
  13. There is a known issue in Panel Manager/Edit Panellist Detail where the Preview button is sometimes not enabled when removing variables from the default column selection preventing the changes from being be saved.  The workaround for this is to ensure a least one profile variable is checked as well as unchecking the variables to be removed.
  14. Samples displayed in the Samples List screen of Sample Manager cannot be sorted by the Emailed column.  If the Emailed column header is clicked this will give an error.
  15. When using the Event History/Prize Description variable as a filter in either Panel Manager or CrossTab it is important to also include EventHistory/EventType = 'Prize claimed'.  Failure to include this could result in some records being returned for different types of events which have the same numeric reference as the id of the prize selected.
  16. On some panel databases, when using the Contact History/Project Date variable as a filter in either Panel Manager or CrossTab, no options are displayed for entering the date range.  If this happens, contact QuenchTec support as the underlying variable may have been set up with the wrong data type.
  17. There is a known issue in CrossTab where the Last Modified Between calendar popup can be unusable when using Prototype Name or Project Title as a row or column.  This only occurs when the user switches between the 'Last' checkbox and the 'Between' checkbox.  If this happens close the window and re-open.
  18. Events and reward points cannot be edited or deleted using Panel Manager/Event History.  If the number of reward points for an event is incorrect the total reward points for the panellist should be adjusted by making a manual adjustment.  Currently if the user tries to edit reward points for an existing manual adjustment  or community event, the change appears to be allowed but will either result in an error when save is attempted or it will appear to work, but not actually do anything.
  19. The Q_Panel API service must be running in order to use some of the functions within Q_Community - in particular, unsubscribe and running Q_Survey questionnaires.
  20. Due to the improvements to backfeed processing, the De-duplication priority property of an outcome code is no longer required and has been removed.
  21. When using the Backfeed URL via API, offset time zones should now be set up using a header (X-TimeZoneOffset) with the timezone offset in minutes.  This method of backfeed does not include a redirect URL as it is not accessed through a web browser.
  22. The Domain Name setting in Setting Manager category 'Q_Survey Integration' is not used and can remain empty.

If upgrading from a version earlier than Q_Panel v7.03, please also refer to previous release notes.