This phase focuses on:
Launching your survey intentionally
Managing participation and reminders while the survey is live
Monitoring progress without disrupting reporting or participant experience
This article is part of the Entromy onboarding journey. Make sure you've completed Phase 3: First-Time Admin Setup & Pre-Launch Checklist before continuing.
What this phase is (and is not)
You are:
Launching or scheduling your survey
Monitoring participation in real time
Managing reminders and participant follow-up
Supporting participants during the live window
You are not:
Changing survey questions
Editing demographics or privacy thresholds
Renaming dimensions
Redesigning communications mid-launch
Once a survey is live, structural changes should be avoided.
Step 1: Final launch readiness check
Before launching, confirm:
☐ Your Pre-Launch Checklist (Phase 3) is complete
☐ Launch and reminder messaging has been finalized
☐ Whitelisting has been confirmed
☐ Ownership is clear for survey execution, participation monitoring, and internal escalation
If any of the above is unclear, resolve it before launching.
Step 2: Launching your survey
Surveys can be launched in one of two ways:
Immediate launch, or
Scheduled launch (set in the Basics tab)
Launch behavior is configured in the Basics step of survey setup, where you define the survey name, participant-facing title, close date, time zone, and supported languages.
Once the survey is launched:
Invitations are sent according to your configuration
Participation tracking begins immediately
Responses are collected until the close date
⚠️ Important: Once a survey is live, changes to survey structure or demographics can affect reporting and should be avoided. If a change feels critical, contact support@entromy.com before proceeding.
Step 3: Understanding and monitoring participation
After launch, actively monitor participation to ensure the survey is progressing as expected.
Participation monitoring allows you to:
Track response rates over time
Identify participants who haven't started or completed
Decide when reminders or follow-ups are needed
Detect access or delivery issues early
You should know:
Where participation status is displayed in the platform
How to distinguish between: Not started, In progress, and Completed
Who is responsible for monitoring participation internally
Related reading:
Step 4: Managing reminders
Reminder behavior is one of the most important aspects of the participant experience.
Automated reminders
Automated reminders are configured in the Automations section of survey setup. When enabled:
Reminders are sent automatically to participants who have not completed the survey
Reminder frequency is based on your selected cadence
Participants who have already completed the survey do not receive reminders
Automated reminders are recommended for most launches because they reduce manual effort, ensure consistent follow-up, and help maintain steady participation.
Manual reminders
Manual reminders are useful in specific situations, such as when a participant missed the original invitation, lost their link, or needs individual follow-up.
⚠️ Important: Manual reminders send regardless of participation status. Use them intentionally to avoid confusing participants who have already responded.
Related reading:
Step 5: Communication management during a live survey
All participant-facing communications should be finalized before launch. During the live period you may still need to:
Confirm reminder timing and cadence
Answer participant questions
Re-send links when requested
Monitor inboxes for delivery issues
Depending on your launch type, communications may include email invitations and reminders, welcome or thank-you messages, SMS messages (if enabled), or kiosk messages and QR codes.
If communication changes feel necessary mid-launch, pause and evaluate the impact before making updates.
Step 6: Special considerations by survey type
360 surveys
For 360 initiatives:
All launches and reminders should be sent from the parent 360
Child surveys inherit communication behavior from the parent
Participation should be monitored at the parent level
Sending from the wrong level causes duplicate or inconsistent communications.
Related reading:
Pulse or recurring surveys
For pulse-style surveys:
Early participation is often strong
Participation patterns may fluctuate by cycle
Trends over time are more important than single-day response rates
Avoid overreacting to short-term dips.
Step 7: Handling common issues during launch
Low participation early on
This is normal in the first few days. Before escalating, confirm reminders are enabled and scheduled correctly, double-check whitelisting, and allow enough time for participants to respond.
Participants can't access the survey
Common causes include email filtering or missing whitelisting, incorrect participant information, or forwarded/expired links. If issues persist, contact support@entromy.com with the participant email(s), a description of the issue, and screenshots if available.
Requests to change the survey after launch
In general, avoid changes once the survey is live as they can impact data integrity and reporting. If a change feels critical, consult support@entromy.com before proceeding.
What "good" looks like in Phase 4
You're on track if:
Participation steadily increases after launch
Reminders are sent intentionally, not reactively
Participants understand what to do and where to go
Admins feel confident monitoring progress
When this phase is complete
Phase 4 is complete when:
The survey has closed
Participation has stabilized
No additional reminders are needed
At that point, you're ready to move into reporting and insights.
Next step
Proceed to Phase 5: Reports & Insights to understand results, privacy behavior, and how to share findings with stakeholders.