Audience research
Part of Audience research for corporate communications that starts with populations, not channels
Corporate communications survey tools: an acceptance test
An acceptance test for corporate communications survey tools, covering collection, accessibility, privacy, security and export for UK buyers.
This guide to corporate communications survey tools considers one job: collecting structured feedback about proposed weekday opening hours at a customer-support site in England. The eligible population, questions and analysis must already be approved. A platform cannot decide whom to ask, whether personal data may be processed or whether a result represents that population.
What to take away
- The manual route must pass the same acceptance test as Microsoft Forms and Qualtrics, including access controls and deletion.
- Research and data decisions such as population, recruitment and question wording stay outside any platform score.
- Do not award compensating pointsan easy export cannot offset an inaccessible form or an unclear purpose.
- No route wins on desk evidence; the choice is conditional on your buyer profile and on completing the acceptance test.
The routes are a buyer-owned manual baseline, Microsoft Forms and Qualtrics Survey Platform using its new survey-taking experience. The comparison is based on desk evidence only. No product was opened or tested, so configured behaviour, UK availability for a particular buyer, edition, price, hosting, support, security and accessibility remain unverified.
Comparison fields and buyer checks
Each row is a route; columns show documented collection and export, accessibility evidence, privacy and security evidence, and what the buyer must verify.
| Route | Documented collection and export | Accessibility evidence | Privacy and security evidence | Buyer must verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual accessible interview plus controlled spreadsheet | Buyer defines interview and export fields | No product claim; buyer arranges accessible modes and tests each artefact | Buyer owns access, storage, transfer and deletion design | workload, transcription risk, access controls, audit trail and repeatability |
| Microsoft Forms | Microsoft's current Forms guide documents question creation, preview and response collection | Microsoft publishes screen-reader instructions, which are usage guidance rather than a buyer test verdict | Microsoft's security and privacy page makes supplier claims about encryption and named compliance frameworks | exact Microsoft 365 entitlement, tenant settings, respondent identity, data location, subprocessors, retention, export and deletion |
| Qualtrics Survey Platform, new survey-taking experience | First-party support describes survey configuration; edition and licensed functions were not established | Qualtrics' accessibility documentation distinguishes experiences and warns that builders can still create inaccessible surveys | The supplier's GDPR support page describes response modification and deletion functions while telling customers to obtain their own advice | contracted suite, brand permissions, UK terms, hosting, transfers, admin access, security evidence, export, deletion and exit |
The first-party pages establish only what their publishers document. They do not establish that a feature exists in the buyer's edition or that a configured questionnaire works with the technology used by every participant.
Route comparison at a glance
Manual route
- Collection and export
- Buyer defines fields
- Accessibility evidence
- Buyer tests artefacts
- Privacy and security
- Buyer owns design
- Buyer must verify
- Workload and audit trail
Microsoft Forms
- Collection and export
- Documented question creation
- Accessibility evidence
- Screen-reader usage guidance
- Privacy and security
- Supplier claims
- Buyer must verify
- Tenant and retention
Qualtrics
- Collection and export
- First-party configuration
- Accessibility evidence
- Not established
- Privacy and security
- Not established
- Buyer must verify
- Edition and functions
Acceptance test for each route
Create synthetic responses that contain no real participant or business information. Test the approved question types, skip logic, optional answers, withdrawal route, keyboard path, screen-reader output, mobile display, error messages, export schema, role permissions, correction, audit log and deletion. Record product version, tenant settings, browser, assistive technology, tester and evidence file. Use WCAG 2.2 Level AA as an accessibility target, and assess EN 301 549 where it applies to your organisation or procurement; treat these as test criteria, not proof that a supplier's configured service conforms.
Concrete checks: for the manual route, confirm the interview script and spreadsheet work with keyboard only and that exported text has a logical reading order. For Microsoft Forms, follow the Microsoft Forms screen-reader instructions and check that error messages are announced.
For Qualtrics, use its accessibility documentation as a starting point, then test the new survey-taking experience with a screen reader and confirm keyboard focus order in a matrix question.
Same acceptance test for every route
- Synthetic responses with no real data
- Question types and skip logic
- Withdrawal route and keyboard path
- Screen-reader output and mobile display
- Error messages and export schema
- Role permissions, correction, audit log, deletion
- Record version, tenant, browser, tester, evidence
A spreadsheet with broad access or an unencrypted transcript folder fails even though no supplier is involved; a named platform fails when the buyer cannot demonstrate the configured route, regardless of the supplier's general statement. Where a supplier cites ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 2 or Cyber Essentials, check the current evidence's scope and whether it covers the service and configuration being used.
Commercial information to confirm
Microsoft Forms is included with Microsoft 365 business plans such as Business Basic and Business Standard. Microsoft publishes UK list prices per user per month, but your existing agreement and seat count determine whether Forms adds any cost.
Qualtrics does not publish a standard UK list price for its Survey Platform. Pricing is quote-based and depends on edition, number of users, response volume, support, hosting and contract term. Ask the vendor for a written UK quote with data processing terms and exit costs.
Which route suits which buyer
Microsoft Forms typically suits a buyer that already uses Microsoft 365 and needs a familiar, low-friction tool for simple internal surveys.
Qualtrics typically suits a buyer with a larger research programme, dedicated survey specialists and a budget for a quote-based enterprise platform.
The manual route typically suits a buyer with a small controlled population, strong internal research skills and a need to avoid new software procurement.
Keep research and data decisions outside the score
Before collection, the owner must approve population, recruitment, question wording, non-response treatment and stopping rule. Apply the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018; the ICO's data-minimisation guidance supports collecting only personal data needed for the stated purpose. Use the ICO's DPIA screening questions to assess whether a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) is needed; a DPIA must be completed before processing where the processing is likely to result in a high risk to people's rights and freedoms. If the questionnaire may capture health, disability, trade-union membership or other special-category information, a qualified reviewer must identify an Article 9 condition and additional safeguards.
Costs, internal labour, licence term, support, migration and exit stay blank until current buyer-specific records exist.
Choose only after the acceptance test passes, the participant journey is accessible, privacy and security evidence is complete, and the buyer can export and delete data on acceptable terms. Hold collection if any hard gate is unresolved.
Before you act
- Confirm the approved population, questions and analysis before choosing a route.
- Complete the acceptance test above and keep the evidence file.
- Check privacy, security, export and deletion evidence before collection starts.
- Hold collection if any hard gate remains unresolved.
Common questions
What did the desk review actually verify about Microsoft Forms and Qualtrics?
It verified only what first-party documentation states. The pages do not establish that a feature exists in the buyer's edition or that a configured questionnaire works with the technology used by every participant.
How is the manual route tested?
It must pass the acceptance test described above. That test covers question types, skip logic, withdrawal, export schema, permissions, audit log and deletion.
What must happen before any collection begins?
The owner must approve population, recruitment, question wording, non-response treatment and stopping rule. The ICO's data-minimisation guidance supports collecting only personal data needed for the stated purpose. If special-category information may be captured, a qualified reviewer must address the additional conditions and safeguards.
