Metolius Framework: The Importance of Structure

Different by Design

Metolius utilizes a well-established approach to building surveys called the Intelligent Questionnaire. This approach has been used for several decades, but Metolius is the first survey platform specifically designed to fully support and extract the valuable analysis that an Intelligent Questionnaire (IQ) can offer.

The Component Structure of an Intelligent Questionnaire

Most traditional survey instruments are created hoping the results will offer clear insights and actionable information. Unfortunately, without the ability to quickly filter a structured set of questions, the actual analysis of the survey responses is done outside of the survey platform itself, with results that are generally insubstantial, time-consuming to create, and frustrating. Creating surveys in Metolius avoids these challenges because it uses the basic structure of an IQ, which includes Goals, Outcomes, Intentions, and Questions.

Goals

The ideal survey, or survey-building process, begins with knowing the goal of your survey. Surveys can measure productivity, risk, customer satisfaction, employee awareness, performance, compliance, or dozens of other subjects. Why are you writing this survey? What do you want to explore? What do you hope to learn? What decisions do you have to make?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself before you start writing questions.

What is the purpose or goal of your survey?
Who is the target participant?
How would you like to sort or filter the data?

Surveys written for use with Metolius follow a systematic process of grouping and nesting three IQ components in support of a goal for the survey, outcomes, intentions, and practices.

Outcomes

When creating a survey, especially with the Intelligent questionnaire format, it's important to identify the key elements that need to be measured to achieve your goal—these are referred to as "outcomes."

Outcomes represent the specific areas or factors you want to assess through your survey. Often, a survey aims to measure just one outcome or goal. However, some goals are more complex and require evaluating multiple outcomes, such as revenue, marketing, distribution, or personnel. Depending on your specific goal, you'll need to choose whether to use a survey that focuses on a single outcome or one that measures multiple outcomes to ensure you gather the necessary data.

Intentions

After identifying the key outcomes you want to measure in your survey, the next step is to think about the specific actions or factors that influence these outcomes—these are known as "intentions."

Intentions are the activities or behaviors that directly support the achievement of each outcome. This process is more straightforward than it might seem. Once you have a clear goal and have pinpointed the outcomes needed to reach that goal, you're well on your way to success.

Now, consider what needs to happen to achieve these outcomes. For example, if one of your outcomes is customer satisfaction, what are the contributing factors? This might include customer feedback, product quality, response time, and communication. Effectively managing these intentions will increase the likelihood of reaching your desired outcome, while neglecting them may lead to falling short.

Questions

Once you've identified the intentions necessary to achieve your outcomes, the next step is to develop questions that assess how well these intentions are being fulfilled. These questions help you evaluate the specific practices, activities, or observable elements that are critical for the success of each intention. For example, if one of your intentions is to improve customer satisfaction, you might ask questions like: "How prompt and effective is our response time to customer inquiries?" or "How well do our products align with customer expectations and needs?"

These questions target the key areas that influence whether an intention succeeds or fails. After questions are in place, Metolius does the math to calculate the responses then provides clear, visual feedback. This allows you to quickly gain insights and focus on understanding the data, rather than spending hours trying to interpret it.