Find The Broken Path
Flow issues usually come from missing destination blocks, variables that appear too late, condition arms that are not connected, or quota paths that do not end where expected. Troubleshoot from the respondent path first, then inspect the Flow canvas with the exact answers that produced the issue.
Start in Preview, not in the diagram. Once you can reproduce the path, open Flow and check the block, condition set, connector, quota, and end screen that should have handled that respondent.
Flow: Conditions and Routing
Symptoms And Likely Causes
- Respondents skip a block they should see: the connector may point around the block, or a branch condition may be using the wrong option label or variable.
- Everyone lands in the same arm: the condition set may be set to by-variable assignment, a random percentage may be missing, or the fallback path may be catching all respondents.
- A screener does not screen anyone out: the eligibility question may appear after the Flow split, or the branch may be checking the display label instead of the stored value.
- Quota-full respondents continue anyway: the quota rule may be attached to the wrong condition arm, or the quota-full connector may be missing.
- Preview differs from live collection: changes may be saved in the editor but not pushed to the published version. Review Publish and Share a Research Survey.
Troubleshooting Steps
Step 1: Reproduce the path in Preview. Use Preview and write down the answers that lead to the issue.
Step 1: Reproduce the path in Preview
Step 2: Check the source variable. Confirm the screener, answer, quota status, or custom variable appears before the Flow split and has a clear question name.
Step 2: Check the source variable name
Step 3: Inspect the condition set. Open Create Experimental Conditions and confirm assignment mode, arms, percentages, and fallback behavior.
Step 3: Inspect condition set in Flow
Step 4: Check every connector. Make sure each arm routes to the correct block, including treatment, control, ineligible, quota-full, and end screen paths.
Step 4: Check all arm connectors
Step 5: Review quotas separately. If the issue happens only when a cell is full, check Set Survey Quotas.
Step 5: Review quota configuration
Step 6: Submit test responses. Send one test response through each path, then use Export to confirm condition assignments and route-relevant fields are recorded.
Step 6: Check condition fields in Export
Common Fixes
- Variable appears after the split: move the question earlier or route from a later block.
- Arm reaches the wrong material: reconnect the condition arm to the intended treatment or end screen.
- Quota path is confusing: create a dedicated quota-full end screen.
- Random assignment looks uneven in a small pilot: review Sample Allocation Across Condition Arms before changing the design.
Preview: Respondent Experience