Feedback and survey design
Setting objectives for event feedback
Someone has asked for a post-event survey, and nobody has said what decision it is meant to inform.
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The short answer
Event feedback objectives state what you will decide or change because of the answers. Write each as a short sentence: We want to know X so that Y person can decide Z by date D.
If no decision, owner or date can be named, the question is curiosity, not an objective. Leave it out or keep it to one optional question.
Start from decisions, not questions
Most weak surveys begin with a list of questions and end with a report nobody acts on. Reverse the order: list the decisions coming up, such as whether to keep the venue, repeat a session format or change the registration form.
Each decision tells you what evidence would help, and that tells you whom to ask and what to ask.
Four kinds of feedback objective
| Kind | Example decision it informs | Evidence that would help |
|---|---|---|
| Improve delivery | Keep, change or drop a session format next year. | Delegate views on specific sessions, with comments. |
| Check fit with purpose | Whether the event reached the audience it was meant for. | Who attended against who was invited, and delegate-stated reasons for attending. |
| Learn about logistics | Whether to change venue arrangements, timing or registration steps. | Specific delegate experiences with named parts of the day. |
| Report to stakeholders | What to tell council, members or a funder about the event. | Observed facts and delegate-reported views, labelled as such. |
Writing an objective
- Name the decision and who makes it.
- Name the date by which the answer is needed, usually before the next planning stage.
- State what kind of evidence would change the decision, and what would not.
- Note who will be asked and whether their views are representative. Limitations go in the plan from the start.
- Limit the survey to the objectives that survive these four checks.
Keep the list short
A feedback form can usually serve three to five objectives. More objectives mean more questions, lower completion and fewer clear actions.
Park lower-priority ideas in a list for the next survey instead of stretching this one.
Hand over to question design
Once objectives are written, take them to the feedback questionnaire builder to turn each into questions and a measure map. Use the objective-to-measure planner to check that every objective has an observable measure and an owner.
The next steps are choosing which questions to include and picking the right response scales.
Worked example · Fictional example
A secretariat narrows its feedback objectives
Fictional organisation and figures, written to show the level of detail that is useful.
The secretariat of a fictional accountants' institute ran a two-day conference for about 400 delegates. Its first draft listed 28 questions. The committee asked what each was for.
They kept three objectives: decide whether to keep the two-track programme, decide whether the registration form needs shortening, and report to council on who attended. Survey questions fell from 28 to 14, each mapped to one of those objectives, with the council report limited to facts and delegate-reported views.
Use this yourself
Feedback objectives worksheet
Copy this table and complete one row per objective. Delete any row that has no decision, owner or date.
| Objective | Decision it informs | Who decides | Needed by | Evidence that would help | Who will be asked | Known limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- You have a clear list of decisions coming up and one owner for the survey.
- The event is familiar and the audience is small enough to follow up in person.
- Findings only go to your own committee.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Several committees want different answers from one survey.
- Findings feed a report to members, a funder or a regional head office.
- The survey must cover a multi-day or multi-track programme with many stakeholders.
Want your objectives turned into a survey plan?
An Event Blueprint can include a feedback plan: the objectives and decisions agreed with your committee, who owns each, which evidence to collect and how the results feed the next planning stage. Your team keeps the questions about the event; the planning pack gives them structure.
Questions organisers ask
How many objectives should a feedback survey have?
Three to five is usually enough. Each one should name a decision, an owner and a date. More than that tends to produce long forms and weak completion.
Can objectives include satisfaction?
Yes, if you can say what you would change depending on the answer. Satisfaction alone does not tell you what to do, so pair it with a specific question about what worked or did not.
Should we set a target score?
Avoid setting a target before you have your own earlier results to compare against. Compare year on year using the same questions, not against figures from other events.
Who should agree the objectives?
The people who will act on the results, usually the committee chair or conference owner, plus the person who runs the survey.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.