ThoughtExchange version 7.1 is coming your way on Wednesday, January 31 @ 8PM Pacific. In this update, we’re introducing flexible privacy settings, two new survey question types, code-authenticated access to engagements, and a lot more!

Note: Not all features are available on all accounts. If you would like to learn more about any of these features, please reach out to your ThoughtExchange representative.

New in this release:

Introducing configurable privacy settings & participant response downloads

In this release we’re launching configurable privacy settings for engagements to provide you with the flexibility to collect the data you need while providing your participants with the space to share honest and open feedback. 

We’ve added two new privacy options for leaders creating engagements: anonymous and confidential. Anonymous privacy settings allow access to participant response downloads that don’t include personal identifying information.  Confidential privacy settings access to participant response downloads that do include personal identifying information (ex. Email address, unique participant ID, etc.) when such information was used to access the engagement.  We will also continue to provide our current privacy setting, ‘classic’, where participants’ responses are not linked to any identifying information.

Code-authenticated access

For organizations that wish to restrict participation to a select group of invitees without using email invitations, code-authenticated access ensures only those who provide their approved access code (for example, employee number or student ID) can participate.

Leaders can now choose between using individualized links or code-authenticated access when they need to restrict access to their engagements.   Both methods require you to import a list of contacts to the ThoughtExchange platform that includes the relevant identifiers.  Speak with your ThoughtExchange rep if you’d like to learn more.

New survey question type: Deep dive

When designing a survey, it is common to ask a closed-ended question followed by a comment box where participants can provide some context for their responses..  In this update, we’ve taken the basic comment box to a whole new level with Deep dive; where participants can share their additional context candidly and then see their answers reflected back to them via an AI-generated summary.

Deep dive allows leaders to ask between one and three comment box questions punctuated by an AI-generated summary. You can include it in your survey via branching or as a core question for all participants to answer.

New survey question type: Likert scale numbers

In this update, we’ve made Likert scale questions more customizable by allowing leaders to ask Likert-style questions where participants provide their responses on a numeric scale rather than a text-based scale.

In Results, the answers are provided with a favorability score.

Reporting just got easier with Slides

Closing the loop with your participants is an important way to keep them engaged. With this update, leaders can automatically generate a slideshow presentation of their surveys.

Additionally, Exchange leaders can include up to 10 survey questions in their Slides.

Survey analysis enhancements

We’ve made a number of enhancements to our Results page, each designed to help you on your way toward a better understanding of your data.

Filter Results with Imported Demographic Data

Nobody likes answering the same question twice. In this update we’ve helped lighten the load on participants by letting leaders use information they already have about participants to analyze their results.

Leaders who run a 'confidential' engagement in combination with either individualized links or code-authenticated access will now be able to filter responses based on any of the data fields they included in a previously uploaded list of contacts.

Include/exclude partial responses

This addition allows users to choose whether their results include all responses (including those from participants who dropped off before answering all questions) or only those who completed the whole engagement.

Filter languages by survey question and participation group filters

You know your target audience, and many of them may primarily speak languages other than English; this enhancement helps you understand if they are represented among the respondents in your engagements. 

Filter the languages tab in Survey analysis by participation group and/or survey question responses in order to gain a deeper understanding of the populations represented in your engagement.

Advisor (BETA): Common ground and Differences

Understanding which topics are polarizing and which are unifying is a critical part of understanding your participants.  This information informs decision-making and communication practices and, up until now, was only available for Exchanges.

In this update we’ve added a new section to the Article section of the Advisor tool called “Common ground & Differences.” This feature analyzes thoughts and comments (from survey questions) and summarizes opposing viewpoints that have been shared in the Exchange or survey along with any unifying points of view.