Survey Plus Web Part: Complete SharePoint Guide SharePoint functions as a central hub for team collaboration. Gathering direct feedback within this ecosystem is critical for data-driven decision-making. The Survey Plus Web Part addresses the visual and functional limitations of native SharePoint survey tools, offering an enhanced, deeply integrated solution for collecting employee insights.
Here is a comprehensive guide to understanding, deploying, and maximizing the value of the Survey Plus Web Part in your SharePoint environment. What is the Survey Plus Web Part?
The Survey Plus Web Part is a premium, third-party add-in designed for modern SharePoint environments (including SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365). While standard SharePoint surveys often rely on separate tracking lists or plain-text forms, Survey Plus embeds interactive, visually polished questionnaires directly onto your team sites, communication pages, or intranet homepages. Key Features
Rich Question Variety: Supports multiple-choice, free text, rating scales, Likert scales, and dropdown menus.
Real-Time Analytics: Displays instant graphical results (pie charts, bar graphs) to users or administrators immediately upon submission.
Custom Branding: Enables direct adjustments to fonts, colors, and layouts to match corporate branding guidelines without custom CSS coding.
Targeted Audience Targeting: Restricts survey visibility to specific Microsoft 365 groups or departments.
Export Capabilities: Supports single-click data exportation to Microsoft Excel or Power BI for deeper statistical evaluation. Step-by-Step Installation and Setup
Deploying Survey Plus requires appropriate administrative privileges. Follow these steps to make the web part available across your tenant. Step 1: App Catalog Deployment Open your SharePoint Admin Center. Navigate to More Features and open the Apps catalog. Upload the .sppkg file provided by your Survey Plus vendor.
Select Enable this app and add it to all sites (or restrict it to specific site collections depending on your licensing governance). Click Deploy. Step 2: Adding the Web Part to a Page
Navigate to the SharePoint page where you want to host the survey. Click Edit in the top-right corner of the page.
Hover over the section where you want the survey, and click the + (Add a new web part) icon. Search for Survey Plus and select it from the toolbox. Configuring Your First Survey
Once the web part sits on your page, you must configure its backend settings and question logic. Click the Edit Web Part (pencil icon) on the left side of the Survey Plus box to open the configuration panel. 1. Data Source Selection
Survey Plus typically stores its relational data in a standard SharePoint List generated automatically upon installation. You can choose to: Create a new native list via the web part menu.
Connect to an existing SharePoint list to aggregate ongoing longitudinal data. 2. Building Questions Utilize the built-in form designer to add your fields: Define mandatory vs. optional fields.
Implement Branching Logic (e.g., if a user selects “Dissatisfied” for Question 1, automatically route them to a text box asking for specific details). 3. Permissions and Privacy Settings
Anonymous vs. Authenticated: Toggle whether the system records the user’s SharePoint profile information or scrambles user metadata for completely anonymous HR feedback.
Submission Limits: Restrict responses to a single entry per user account to protect data integrity. Advanced Customization and Best Practices
To ensure high response rates and seamless functionality, consider these optimization strategies: Design for Mobile Readiness
Modern SharePoint pages are responsive by default, but complex Likert matrices can struggle on smaller screens. Preview your Survey Plus layout using the SharePoint mobile view toggle before publishing to guarantee accessibility for frontline or remote workers. Automate Workflows with Power Automate
Because Survey Plus feeds its data directly into standard SharePoint Lists, you can easily attach native Microsoft Power Automate flows to trigger specific behaviors:
Instant Alerts: Notify managers via Microsoft Teams when a critical negative response is submitted.
Approval Routines: Route ideas submitted via an innovation survey directly into an executive review queue. Keep Results Transparent
Boost organizational trust by enabling the “Show Results” feature. Once an employee submits their feedback, the web part transforms into a live dashboard showing aggregate company-wide responses. Troubleshooting Common Issues
Error: “Access Denied” on Submission: Ensure that the targeted end-users have “Contribute” permissions on the underlying SharePoint tracking list, even if they only have “Read” access to the page itself.
Web Part Not Appearing in Toolbox: Verify that the app is properly approved and deployed within the App Catalog, and that the “App” feature is activated at the specific Site Collection level.
If you are planning to roll this out, I can help you tailor the setup. Let me know:
Your specific SharePoint environment (SharePoint Online/M365 or On-Premises)
The primary use case for the survey (HR feedback, event sign-ups, IT requests) Whether responses must be completely anonymous
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