Before you start:
SHOW and HIDE apply very similar logic to a question.
SHOW – Hides a question by default until the set of circumstances defined in the rule are met.
HIDE – Shows a question by default until the set of circumstances defined in the rule are met.
Best Practices
Use either SHOW or HIDE across all the rules in your TouchPoint. This is primarily for simplicity and logic's sake. It makes it easier for others to understand the logic of a TouchPoint when it is all consistent.
Turn on question numbering (at least temporarily) when working with conditional rules.
Only one conditional rule should be set to require a single question element. Using multiple rules to set the same question as "required" will result in contradicting logic
Each question should only be associated with one conditional rule.
For example, only one conditional rule should be used to set a question as "required". Creating multiple rules to set the same question as "required" will result in contradictory logic and will not follow the rules as expected.
Take the second example below:
Rule #1:
In the above example, IF the Date question A-2 is equal to "1/1/2020," THEN question A-7 should SHOW. This means, by default, A-7 is hidden from the end user. Only when the above circumstance is true will question A-7 be shown.
If a second conditional rule is created to expand upon when A-7 should be shown, issues may occur.
Rule #2:
This second rule states IF question A-4 is equal to "No," THEN question A-7 should show. With both rules in place, A-7 may be stuck in a contradiction. If Rule #1 is met but Rule #2 is NOT, should the question show? In this case, the simple answer is to combine the rules.
Rule #3:
By using the "Any or All", you can determine whether all conditions must be met or if either statement can be met for the question to show.
Expected Behavior
When forms do not follow our best practices, we often see the following behaviors in the TouchPoint form:
Questions SHOW or HIDE always instead of following the conditional rules
Questions follow the rules when adding a response but do not follow the rules when editing the form
Question data is available in reporting, but the data appears to be blank or "missing" when editing the form response.
Limitations
The major limitation within conditional rules is that there is no "OR" statement.
The following statement is NOT currently possible with conditional rules:
If ("X" and "Y") or ("B" and "C"), then SHOW A-7
The following statements ARE possible with conditional rules:
If "X" and "Y" and "B" and "C", then SHOW A-7
OR
If "X" or "Y" or "B" or "C", then SHOW A-7
We recommend users take this into consideration when building their forms. Ensuring that TouchPoints only have one set of ANY or ALL circumstances that can SHOW or HIDE a question will keep the logic in check.
Workaround: Users can create two identical questions and use conditional rules to have one question show under the "X" and "Y" circumstances and the other question show under the "B" and "C" circumstances.
In reporting, data associated with these identical questions can be easily combined with variables.