Effective Product Experience Surveys with Google Forms

Google Forms is a versatile tool for gathering feedback, and it's especially useful for understanding user experiences with your products. A well-designed survey can provide valuable insights into what's working, what's not, and how you can improve. This post will guide you through creating effective product experience surveys using Google Forms, with specific examples and links to official Google documentation.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Form

Creating a New Form

1. Start Fresh: Go to forms.google.com and click the "+" (Blank) button to create a new form.
2. Name Your Form: Give your form a clear and descriptive title, such as "[Product Name] User Experience Survey."

For more details on starting a new form, visit: Create a new form or quiz

Creating a Form from Google Sheets or Drive

• From Sheets: If you want responses automatically saved in a Google Sheet, open a new or existing sheet at sheets.google.com, then click Tools > Create a new form.
• From Drive: To create a form directly in Google Drive, go to drive.google.com, click New > Google Forms.

Learn more about these options here: Create a new form or quiz

Step 2: Building Your Survey

Choosing the Right Question Types

Google Forms offers a variety of question types. Selecting the appropriate type is crucial for collecting the data you need. Here are some common types and their applications in product experience surveys:

• Short Answer: Ideal for capturing brief, open-ended feedback (e.g., "What is your biggest challenge with [feature]?"). You can set response validation rules, such as maximum character count: Set rules for your form.
• Paragraph: Best for more detailed, open-ended responses (e.g., "Describe your overall experience using [product]."). Similar to short answer, you can set rules: Set rules for your form.
• Multiple Choice: Useful for gauging user preferences or identifying the frequency of specific behaviors (e.g., "How often do you use [feature]?"). You can direct users to different sections based on their answers: Show questions based on answers.
• Checkboxes: Allow users to select multiple options (e.g., "Which features do you find most useful?").
• Dropdown: Similar to multiple choice but presents options in a dropdown menu, saving space (e.g., "What is your primary role?"). Like multiple choice, you can use this for conditional logic: Show questions based on answers.
• Linear Scale: Perfect for rating satisfaction, ease of use, or other aspects on a numerical scale (e.g., "On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with [feature]?"). You can customize the scale's range and labels: Choose a type of question for your form.
• Rating: Similar to linear scale, but using visual elements like stars. For example: "Please rate the ease of navigation" Choose a type of question for your form
• Multiple Choice Grid: Useful for comparing different aspects or features across multiple dimensions (e.g., a grid with features listed in rows and satisfaction levels in columns). This is great for more complex evaluations: Set rules for your form.
• Checkbox Grid: Similar to the multiple-choice grid, but allows multiple selections per row, suitable for scenarios where users might have multiple preferences or experiences across different aspects: Set rules for your form.
• Date/Time: Collect specific dates or times relevant to the user's experience (e.g., "When did you first start using [product]?").
• File Upload: While less common in product experience surveys, you might use this to allow users to upload screenshots or other relevant files. Note: This requires respondents to sign in to a Google Account and creates a folder in your Drive: Choose a type of question for your form.

For a full overview of question types, see: Choose a type of question for your form

Crafting Effective Questions

• Be Clear and Concise: Avoid jargon or ambiguous language.
• Focus on Specific Behaviors or Experiences: Instead of asking "Do you like the product?", ask "How easy was it to complete [task] using [product]?".
• Use a Mix of Question Types: This keeps the survey engaging and allows you to gather different types of data.
• Consider Conditional Logic: Use the "Go to section based on answer" feature to tailor the survey to individual respondents: Show questions based on answers.
• Add Images or Videos: If applicable, visuals can help illustrate specific features or scenarios: Edit your form.

Adding Sections and Structure

• Use Sections: Break your survey into logical sections (e.g., "Onboarding," "Feature Usage," "Overall Satisfaction"). This makes the survey less daunting: Edit your form.
• Randomize Question Order: If appropriate, you can shuffle the order of questions or answer options to reduce bias: Randomly order questions and answers.

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You can then review the generated form, make any necessary adjustments to the UI in Google Forms, and customize it to perfection.

Step 3: Customizing the Look and Feel

• Change Theme: Adjust the colors, fonts, and header image to match your brand or product: Change the theme or font of your form.

Step 4: Sharing and Collecting Responses

Sharing Your Form

• Send to Respondents: Click the Send button to get options for sharing via email, link, or embedding on a website: Send your form for people to fill in.
• Collaborate on Editing: To work on the form with others, share it with collaborators (they'll also have access to the response spreadsheet): Share your form with collaborators.

Managing Responses

• Choose Response Destination: You can view responses directly in Google Forms or link them to a Google Sheet: Choose where to save form responses.
• View and Analyze Responses: Google Forms provides summaries and charts of responses. You can also analyze the data in more detail in Google Sheets: View and manage form responses.

Step 5: Making it a Quiz (Optional)

If you want to create a quiz to test product knowledge, you can turn your form into a quiz:

• Enable Quiz Mode: In your form, go to Settings and turn on Make this a quiz.
• Assign Points and Feedback: You can assign point values to questions and provide feedback for correct and incorrect answers: Create & grade quizzes with Google Forms.
• Release Grades: Choose whether to release grades immediately or after manual review: Share results.