The validation of answers is one of the features offered by Gathering Tools to enhance  data quality.. In addition to the consistency controls implemented in the questionnaires (constraints, mandatory values …), it is possible to designate users whose role is to validate the answers. This double quality control, technical and human, reinforces the company’s trust in the data collected.

Designation of validators

To validate an answer, a user must have at least validator rights on the template and, if necessary, have rights on the entity concerned thanks to the template filter (see the “User and rights management” article)

Validation methods

For the validator, the discussion thread looks like this:

Click to display the image in full screen

On the tiles representing the answers, the validator will be shown 2 or 4 buttons, depending on the configuration of the launch action. By default, the following 2 buttons will be present:
Allows you to open the questionnaire to enter values and transmit a new answer

Allows you to open the questionnaire for validation. The toolbar of the document will present the buttons for validating or invalidating the answer.

If the collection launch action includes at least one viewing axis, then the 2 quick validation buttons will also be displayed:

Allows you to validate the answer without opening the questionnaire

Allows you to invalidate the answer without opening the questionnaire

Impact on the discussion thread

Once the answer is validated, the validation comment and the response concerned are displayed in green when the answer is validated, in red when it is invalidated.

For a given entity, there can only be one validated reply. Therefore, if the respondents transmit a second answer after a first validated one and the validator validates this new response, then the previously validated answers automatically become invalidated.

Validation status of the entity

The validation of answers impacts the validation status displayed on the answers page.

• If an answer has been validated, the status of the entity is changed to “Validated”.
• If at least one answer has been invalidated, and no other answer is validated, the entity takes the status “Invalidated”.
• If a new answer has been received after a previous response has been validated or invalidated, the entity is given the status “Pending”.
• If there is a new answer after the last validated one, then a warning icon (and a tooltip) is displayed next to the “Validated” status

Deleting validation information

By right-clicking on the graph on the answers page, the validator can bring up a pop-up menu allowing him/her to delete the validation statuses. This operation will result in :

• The deletion of all the validators’ messages in the threads of all the entities
• The deletion of the validation statuses of all responses for all entities
• The modification of the status of all entities having received responses to “Pending”.

This operation is irreversible.

Impact on the integration of responses

Validation does not necessarily have an impact on integration. The developer can choose to take the validation status into account (for example, by setting the action so that it only integrates validated answers or by adding the validation information to the integration table) or not.