FAQ
Solutions website
Q: I am trying to access the website https://solutions.worldbank.org, but it shows an error. What do I need to do?
A: In the past, the address https://solutions.worldbank.org has led to the Designer tool from the Survey Solutions tool set. Now the Designer is accessible from this page: https://designer.mysurvey.solutions.
Some older presentations or instructions guides may still refer to the older address if they were not updated in the meanwhile.
April 21, 2023Where is My Interview?
This page is summarizing information that may help resolve the issue of the user not being able to find interviews. All of the below situations were encountered in practice while troubleshooting users’ reports of “Data loss” (no matter how absurd they may sound).
None of the situations described below constitutes a defect or a bug, as in these cases data is not lost by the system itself, but rather it is erased as a result of a specific and predictable action by the user.
March 28, 2023Browser requirements
The online components of Survey Solutions software (Designer, Web Tester, Headquarters, Web Interviewer) work with any modern web browser: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft Internet Explorer of any version is neither recommended nor supported at this time.
January 25, 2023Security review results
We are constantly on the lookout for new threats and periodically issue patches for any detected vulnerabilities that have a proven potential to be exploited to intercept data or intervene into the operation of the system, notably, our recent release 21.06.
Our security policy is located here. The inventory of currently reported security advisories is published here.
Users may conduct their own security analysis and share with us. We do not provide these reports on request of third parties.
August 27, 2021Glossary
The following is a brief overview of the specialized terms used in Survey Solutions. The meaning of these terms may be different from what you may have experienced in other systems. Follow the links inside for more detailed explanations in the support site articles.
2FA
(aka Two-factor authentication)
Security-enhancing feature requiring authentication of users with two different procedures. In Survey Solutions the two factors are:
- password, selected by the user, and
- time-sensitive token (number) generated using an authenticator app (typically installed on the user’s smartphone).
Assignment
A request/order to conduct one or more interviews as part of a certain survey to a specific user of the Survey Solutions system. Typically contains answers to one or more identifying fields that specify where the data must be collected. (typically 1 document per unit of survey).
June 10, 2021Support checklists
When reporting a technical problem in Survey Solutions, you may be requested by our team member to collect the information based on one of the following lists.
Orange list | ||
| # | information item | example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full server name. Please, do not write 'my server', 'our server', 'one of our servers'. | https://demo.mysurvey.solutions |
| 2 | Exact date and time when you tried to access the server, specify your time zone. | Aug 7, 2019 at 16:34 UTC+2:00 or Aug 1, 2019 at 06:59 Pacific Standard Time |
| 3 | Include your IP address from which you tried to access the server. To determine it, type my ip in the Google search box. | 127.0.0.1 |
| 4 | A screenshot with the report of the tools listed here | |
| 5 | A screenshot with the server response (what you are seeing when you are trying to access the server). | |
Red list | ||
| # | information item | example |
| 1 | Full server name. Please, do not write 'my server', 'our server', 'one of our servers'. | https://demo.mysurvey.solutions |
| 2 | User name (login) of the user(s) experiencing the problem | IntJohn |
| 3 | Date and time when the problem was last experienced, (if known, also when the problem was first experienced) | Aug 7, 2019 at 16:34 Pacific Standard Time. |
Blue list | ||
| # | information item | example |
| 1 | Full server name. Please, do not write 'my server', 'our server', 'one of our servers'. | https://demo.mysurvey.solutions |
| 2 | User name (login) of the user(s) experiencing the problem | IntJohn |
| 3 | Date and time when the problem was last experienced, (if known, also when the problem was first experienced) | Aug 7, 2019 at 16:34 Pacific Standard Time. |
| 4 | Version of the Android operating system on the tablet of the affected interviewer | Android 6.0.1. |
| 5 | Survey Solutions Interviewer App version on the tablet of the affected interviewer | 19.07.5 (build 25531). |
| 6 | Send tablet information: on the tablet of the affected interviewer go to the MENU --> Diagnostics --> 'Collect and send to HQ all tablet information'. | |
| 7 | Date and time when the support package was sent by that interviewer to the HQ (step #6) | Aug 7, 2019 18:39 Pacific Standard Time. |
Green list | ||
| # | information item | example |
| 1 | Full server name. Please, do not write 'my server', 'our server', 'one of our servers'. | https://demo.mysurvey.solutions |
| 2 | User name (login) of the user(s) experiencing the problem | IntJohn |
| 3 | Date and time when the problem was last experienced, (if known, also when the problem was first experienced) | Aug 7, 2019 at 16:34 Pacific Standard Time. |
| 4 | Version of the Android operating system on the tablet of the affected interviewer | Android 6.0.1. |
| 5 | Survey Solutions Interviewer App version on the tablet of the affected interviewer | 19.07.5 (build 25531). |
| 6 | Send tablet information: on the tablet of the affected interviewer go to the MENU --> Diagnostics --> 'Collect and send to HQ all tablet information'. | |
| 7 | Date and time when the support package was sent by that interviewer to the HQ (step #6) | Aug 7, 2019 18:39 Pacific Standard Time. |
| 8 | Assignment number and/or the interview key and status with which the user is experiencing the problem | interview 32-64-12-90 from assignment nr. 2317. |
Slow Tablets
Use the instructions below to diagnose tablets’ performance issues, which can manifest themselves as:
- slowness (occasional or permanent) while working with the Interviewer App;
- freezes for a considerable period of time;
- crashes and restarts of the application;
or a combination of the above.
NB: For troubleshooting the synchronization errors, refer to the synchronization problems article.
Check that the tablet is not in the low-power mode. If in the low-power mode, change to normal mode and retry (some tablets may need to restart, or sleep and wake up for the mode switch to become effective).
February 8, 2021
Scalability of Survey Solutions
Overview
The Survey Solutions supports horizontal scaling and may be deployed as a web-farm for servicing a large number of client connections.
This is especially important for operations like population censuses and large national surveys.
A web-farm installation is implemented on multiple systems (called nodes) working in concert to service the received requests. Increasing the number of nodes in the farm allows to improve the overall performance: the responsiveness of the system and number of users working simultaneously.
February 5, 2021Deleting a survey
Survey deletion is possible, but as a dangerous operation is made available only to server administrators. When a survey is deleted all data collected as part of that survey is irretrievably and irreversibly lost. Hence the same steps should be applied as described in actions after the end of the survey.
Make sure you backup your data before deleting a survey! Even if this was training, pre-test, or a field test. In some cases even data collected as part of such exercises can be invaluable for improving the questionnaire, estimating the performance of interviewers, or duration of the survey.
September 10, 2020FAQ for email support
Before writing your request, study the documentation online, read the FAQ, and browse our users’ forum. Don’t neglect Google or other search engines. This is usually the fastest way to get your issue resolved. It will also help you to use the right terminology when asking a question.
All of the questions of the kind “Is it possible to do X in Survey Solutions?” or “How do I do X in Survey Solutions?” should not be sent to the support team directly, but rather be posted to the user forum as public questions.
April 21, 2020