Path Simulator

Path Simulator shows every route a respondent can take through your survey, how each route ends, and which questions or blocks no respondent can ever reach. It reads the survey's skip logic, compound logic, Show/Hide rules and block flow, so you can check your logic before launch without taking the survey yourself.

It works out what is possible from the logic, not from real responses, so you can use it before a single response is collected. Path Simulator is in beta.

1. Go to Edit and open your survey. Click the Path Simulator button in the toolbar, between Draft / Publish and Preview. Any unsaved edits are saved first.
   
   
   
   
2. Wait while "Analysing survey logic..." runs. The survey then appears as a flow diagram, with the Routes panel on the left.
   
   
   
   
3. To return to the editor, click Back to survey at the top right, or click the Path Simulator button again.
   
   
   
   

Pick a question from the Starting question dropdown in the header. Questions are grouped by block, and only questions with branching logic can be picked. Every route and count is worked out from this question.

The branch points count beside it shows how many places in the survey send respondents down different paths. Hover over it for a short explanation.

Turn on Compare all paths in the header. The Routes panel lists every complete route from the starting question, each named Path 1, Path 2 and so on, with its question count and outcome. The default route is marked Main.

Use the tabs to filter the list:

• All: Every route from the starting question.
• Completed: Routes that reach the end of the survey.
• Terminated: Routes where the respondent is screened out.
• Unreachable question: Questions and blocks no route can reach, with the reason.

Click a route to highlight it on the diagram. You can search routes by path name or question order, sort them by length and rename them. Up to 5,000 routes are listed.

1. Turn on Compare all paths and click the Terminated tab. Click a route to select it.
   
   
   
   
2. Follow the highlighted line on the diagram to the red Terminated node.
   
   
   
   

A route counts as terminated when it ends in a terminate-survey, quality-terminate or chain-survey branch.

1. Turn off Compare all paths. The panel shows Simulation path and the branches available from the starting question.
   
   
   
   
2. Click a branch marker on the diagram to choose where the respondent goes next. Each choice is added to the Simulation path trail.
3. Keep choosing until the path ends. A message confirms whether it reaches the end of the survey or screens the respondent out.

The This path summary shows the questions visited, the branches ahead and the status: In progress, Completed or Terminated. Use Back to undo a step or Start over to begin again.

Click a branch marker, the dot on a line between questions, to open Branching Reason. It shows the skip logic, compound logic or Show/Hide rule that sends respondents along that line.

Path Simulator is read-only. To change a rule, click Back to survey, edit the logic, then reopen Path Simulator.

Turn on Compare all paths and click the Unreachable question tab. It lists every question and block no route can reach, with the reason, such as a block inside a Logic container whose criteria can never be met. Unreachable questions are also outlined in red on the diagram.

A question is only flagged when Path Simulator can prove it is unreachable, so a flagged question can be trusted. A count of zero is a strong check, not a guarantee.

Click Legend at the bottom right of the diagram to see what each color and marker means. Close it with the ×.

• On the selected path: The route or question you are following.
• Alternative route: Other routes from the same starting question.
• Completed: The route reaches the end of the survey.
• Terminated: The respondent is screened out.
• Unreachable question: No route from the start can show this question.
• Branching logic: Click to open Branching Reason.
• Question information: Opens the question's type, text and answer options.

Click the eye icon beside any question on the diagram. Question Information opens with the question's type, text and answer options.

Use the controls at the bottom right of the diagram. The top button switches between a vertical and a horizontal layout. Use + and − to zoom in and out.

A horizontal layout, zoomed out, is the quickest way to see a long survey in one view.

• Default order: Questions flow in survey order unless logic redirects them.
• Skip logic: Per-answer and per-matrix row or column branches, "question answered" branches and the default branch.
• Compound logic: Each rule's criteria and branch, plus the default branch. A rule that can never be true is treated as never firing.
• Show/Hide logic: Question, answer option and matrix row rules.
• Block flow: A Logic container whose criteria can never be met makes every block inside it unreachable. A Randomizer is assumed able to show any of its blocks.
• Loops: Skip logic that jumps back to an earlier question is handled without hanging.

Conditions are checked for single-choice, multi-choice and numeric questions, including matrix rows. A chain of conditions is read left to right, with no AND-before-OR precedence, matching how the editor shows them.

• Run Path Simulator before every publish, and again after any logic change.
• Check the Terminated routes against your screener criteria.
• Rename key routes, such as screen-outs, so reviewers can find them quickly.
• Use the horizontal layout for long surveys.

Does Path Simulator use real responses?

No. Routes are worked out from the logic. It does not show how many respondents took each path.

Can I edit logic inside Path Simulator?

No. It is read-only. Edit the logic in the survey editor, then reopen Path Simulator.

Why don't my latest changes show?

The analysis runs once each time Path Simulator opens. Click Back to survey, then open it again.

Why isn't a question I expect to be hidden flagged as unreachable?

Conditions on text, date/time, rank-order and card-sort questions are treated as possibly true. Questions always hidden by a Hide rule, and "was not answered" conditions on unreachable questions, are not flagged.

What does Dead end mean?

The route stops at a question with no way forward. Normal logic should not produce one, so check that question's logic in the editor.

Why does the route list say it is showing the first routes?

The survey has more than 5,000 routes. Only the first 5,000 are listed, so the list is not complete.