Configuration
Use Snapshot settings to choose questions, tailor the survey to different audiences, and manage delivery. Settings carry forward, so you only need to update what changes between snapshots.
Open Snapshot settings from the upcoming or active snapshot link in DX. You need permission to manage snapshots to make changes. Settings are organized into two tabs:
- Survey questions: Manage branches, questions, and self-reported attributes.
- Delivery: Manage the next snapshot date, snapshot roles, and communications.
Save changes in each section using its Save button. Check Snapshot settings → Survey questions for the configuration lock date, and complete question and branch changes before that date. This can be earlier than the delivery date; settings remain locked until the snapshot closes.
Survey questions
Start with the built-in question banks, then choose the questions that fit your audience and goals. Keeping a consistent set across snapshots makes changes easier to interpret.
Branching
Use branches when different groups need different questions. Each branch has its own selection of drivers, workflows, and satisfaction questions. Without branching, you manage one question set.
Respondents normally choose their branch by answering a question such as “What is your primary role?” If your organization uses admin-managed branch assignments, people who already have an assignment skip this question.
To add the Product management or Product design question bank:
- Go to Snapshot settings → Branching → Add branch.
- Choose Product management or Product design. DX creates the branch with its default driver and workflow questions.
- Go to Snapshot settings → Survey questions and use the new branch’s tab to review and adjust its questions.
- Go to Snapshot settings → Branching to review the Branch prompt. Select Edit beside a branch to change its Survey response, the option respondents see.
- Save any edits in their dialog or section, then go to Snapshot settings → Preview snapshot to check the survey. Adding a preset branch saves it immediately.
These presets require branching and the five-point response scale. Each preset disappears from Add branch once added; use its existing tab to manage it. If you need help enabling branching or these presets, contact your DX account manager.
To build a question set for another audience, go to Snapshot settings → Branching → Add branch → Custom branch. A branch’s Name appears in settings and reports; its Survey response is the option respondents see in the survey. Go to Snapshot settings → Survey questions → All branches to compare the question selections across branches.
Driver questions
Drivers measure people’s experience of their work, such as collaboration, customer access, and time to focus.
Go to Snapshot settings → Survey questions. If you use branches, select the branch’s tab, then find Drivers. Select the questions you want to include and save the section.
For a branching survey, select Add driver to choose an existing question or create a custom one. The existing-question picker includes the DX question library and questions already used on other branches. You can browse by discipline and see where a question is used. Without branching, use Add custom driver to create a question.
Use built-in questions where they fit. Custom drivers let you ask about something specific to your organization, but do not have industry benchmarks. For a rating of a particular tool or process, consider a CSAT question.
Workflow questions
Workflows measure specific activities, such as meeting load, rework, or time saved with AI.
Go to Snapshot settings → Survey questions. If you use branches, select the branch’s tab, then find Workflows. Select the workflows relevant to your audience and save the section.
For a branching survey, use Add workflow to add an existing question or create a custom one. Without branching, use Add custom workflow. Questions marked as required cannot be disabled.
CSAT questions
CSAT questions collect satisfaction ratings on a five-point scale. Use them for specific tools, services, or processes, such as your design system or planning process.
Go to Snapshot settings → Survey questions. If you use branches, select the branch’s tab, then find CSAT. Add an item and configure its audience. Items can be targeted by team, user attributes, or a custom email list. With branching, you can create an item for a branch or reuse an existing one.
Keep the selection manageable for each respondent. DX recommends 8–15 CSAT questions. If you have many items, CSAT groups organize them by topic. When grouping is enabled, items must belong to a group to appear in the survey. Contact your DX account manager to enable grouping.
Custom attributes
Go to Snapshot settings → Self-reported attributes → Add custom attribute to collect context for filtering results, such as a person’s primary tool or area of work. These questions apply across branches, and each can have up to 11 answer options.
See Custom user attributes for details.
Allocation questions
Allocation questions measure how developers divide their time across new capabilities, keeping existing systems running (KTLO and maintenance), and other work. A follow-up question can break down a category further, such as time spent on incidents or support.
Contact your DX account manager to customize allocation questions and map your categories to DX’s standard categories for benchmarking.
Delivery
Delivery settings apply across all branches.
Scheduling
Go to Snapshot settings → Delivery → Scheduling → Next snapshot, choose from the available launch dates, and save. If a snapshot is active, you can set the next date after it closes.
Go to Snapshot settings → Delivery → Scheduling → Snapshot population to see how many people will be included and use the download button to get the participant list.
Manage participants and team membership in Organization. Adding a question-bank branch does not add people to your organization.
People
Go to Snapshot settings → Delivery → People and select the role you want to edit:
- Snapshot admins can manage snapshots.
- Snapshot observers receive snapshot notifications.
- Snapshot analysts have read-only access to snapshot settings, reports, and triage results.
Some roles may be managed through your identity provider rather than edited in DX.
Lifecycle messages
Go to Snapshot settings → Delivery → Communications → Lifecycle messages to customize messages shown to team leads before a snapshot and to participants when it begins and closes. Available messages depend on your delivery integration. The pre-snapshot team lead message is not sent before your first snapshot.
Use the communication templates as a starting point.
Nudges
Go to Snapshot settings → Delivery → Communications → Scheduled nudges to configure additional reminder messages, including their timing, audience, content, and sender. Available options depend on your delivery integration.
DX also sends automatic participation reminders. See Bot notifications for the notification schedule.
Preview before sending
Go to Snapshot settings → Preview snapshot and review each branch’s survey. Check that the questions, answer options, and branch selection text make sense for the people receiving them.
Then follow Before each snapshot to prepare participants and confirm you’re ready to launch.