Before moving a project into Production, it’s essential to test it thoroughly. Skipping this step can lead to errors that affect data quality, confuse participants, or delay your study. Testing ensures your project runs smoothly from day one.
What does “testing” mean?
Testing isn’t just reviewing forms in the Online Designer. It means completing the entire workflow end-to-end, just like a participant or study staff would.
This includes entering sample records with fake data to:
• Ensure branching logic and calculations work as intended;
• Emails (ASI and/or Alerts & Notifications) are triggered appropriately;
• Syntax entered into the survey queue and form display logic behave as expected.
Try all possible answer options to confirm expected behavior. If your project includes surveys, send them to yourself and colleagues so you can experience the process firsthand.
How much testing is enough?
The more complex your project, the more testing it needs. Some projects may require dozens, or even hundreds, of test records. Don’t be afraid to over-test: this is exactly what the Development environment is for.
What about test data?
When moving to Production, you will be asked if you would like to retain or delete the existing data in your project. At that point, none of your records should be real, only test data. Choosing “Delete ALL data” ensures your Production project starts fresh and is protected from data loss.
✅ Quick Tip: Make of copy of your project before moving to Production. This copy can act as a test project for any future modifications.
Not sure about survey distribution?
If you don’t yet have a clear plan for how surveys will be sent or managed, keep testing before you go live.
Try Vanderbilt’s Survey Development Tool for guidance.
Refer to our FAQ’s for step-by-step instructions for administering surveys.
The bottom line
Thorough testing is the best safeguard for data quality and participant experience. End-to-end testing helps you identify issues early—long before they reach your study team or participants.